Lizzy Ford (18 page)

Tears forming, Jessi sank into her couch, eyes on the photo of her and the two teens she was supposed to be taking care of. She was a horrible guardian.

“Ashley!” she called.

Her cousin hurried back, her face falling when she realized Jonny was gone.

“I don’t want you talking to that kid,” Jessi said.

“Jonny?” Ashley appeared genuinely surprised. “He’s been nice to me. He rescued me the other night.”

“Yeah, well, he’s a wacko.”

“You’re so lame.” Ashley rolled her eyes.

“Ash, I’m serious.”

“First I have to check in every other hour and now I can’t see Jonny.” Ashley’s face flushed. “You can’t tell me what to do.”

“Like hell I can’t!” Jessi snapped. “I’ll ground your ass for weeks if you don’t listen to me.”

“You’re never home anyway. You have no idea what I do when you’re out.”

Jessi bit her tongue, not wanting to get into a pissing match with her cousin. She drew a deep breath.

“Look, just do me a favor this week. Don’t see Jonny. We’ll see how it goes with your healing and then talk about it this weekend,” she said.

Ashley hesitated. There were still circles under her eyes and she was paler than normal.

“Okay?” Jessi prodded.

“Whatever.”

It was as close to a yes as she was going to get. Ashley stormed back to her room and slammed the door.

 Jesse leaned against the wall. She had to keep it together. Wiping her face, she forced herself to breathe steadily. Jonny was right. All three of their lives were at stake. It was one stupid necklace.

Owned by a vampire much larger than this one. If she took it, what would Xander do?

Could she risk finding out?

Jessi rose. Too much was on the line for her to give up. If Xander hadn’t erased the events calendar, she’d know where he’d be so she could search his house for the necklace.

When you’re ready to talk, let me know.

Why did she have the feeling his deal involved making her Tuesday? There was no way she was sleeping with a man like that. If he threw out every woman he slept with, she’d have to save this option for a last resort, in case he fired her the morning after. If she wasn’t certain she’d be able to take the necklace out the door with her, she was screwed.

At least the offer was on the table, barring any anger he had at her slapping him today.

“I’m not to that point yet,” she told herself. She needed to figure out when he was leaving the house, so she could find the necklace and be done with the vampires.

Jessi crossed to the kitchen to start dinner for her cousins, mind on how she was going to get out of this mess, if she wasn’t able to get the necklace. Her right hand hardly worked. The pain made her nauseous.

More tears formed, but she pushed them away. She had tomorrow to try again. After all, the thought of kicking the annoying woman, Toni, out of Xander’s bed and apartment sounded really appealing.

Chapter Eight

Xander spent the afternoon with Toni and then made the journey he didn’t want to. There were two reasons to go, both of which were Oracles. He appeared in the middle of the White God’s compound and began walking. His senses registered the shocked Guardians that stopped what they were doing to stare at him.

“You couldn’t call first?” Darian materialized seconds later and fell into step a few feet from him. “Doubt even you’d walk away from the hundreds of Guardians around here. Damian has a warning order out about you. You know, for threatening his wife.”

“She’s expecting me.” Xander had no second thought about the Oracle predicting he’d show up today. He chose to appear far enough away from her that Damian didn’t sic his Guardians on him. The act was out of politeness, because he needed something.

“Figures.” Darian’s presence kept the other Guardians at bay. He led them towards the massive red barn at the center of the buildings.

Xander sensed those within before he set foot into the ultra-modern gym. Darian nodded to the Guardians present, most of which left quickly at Xander’s appearance. They paused beside the ring in the center, where the two at its middle had stopped to stare at him.

“It’ll take more than a helmet to protect yourself from me,” he said, amused at the sight of the tiny Oracle, Sofi, in padded headgear and gloves. Her long, blonde hair was in a ponytail down her back.

“Back off, Xander,” Dusty, the man in the ring with her, ordered. With chiseled features and cold eyes, he looked every bit the man who had headed up Damian’s assassination corps before the promotion to the leader of all operations in the Western Hemisphere. “You’re supposed to request permission to visit.”

“Or your Oracle could tell you.”

“Oh, now you want something from me, after threatening to take off my head?” Sofi said with faux innocence.

“If he’s coming to you, and you’re still alive, then he’s not a threat,” Eden said from her vantage point nearby. “This time, at least.”

“I know why he’s here,” Sofi replied coolly. “He ran into something he can’t handle.”

“I can handle it,” Xander responded. “Just not in a way that lets everyone involved live.”

“Dusty, I need to talk to him,” Sofi said, gazing up at the blond man beside her.

“Fuck no.”

“He won’t go away until I do.”

“I don’t give a shit.”

“He can stay,” Xander said. “Not like he can kill me.”

His words made the silence that followed even tenser. He smiled, enjoying it, then climbed through the ropes of the ring. Dusty was bristling. Sofi stepped up beside him, unwilling to back down from the vamp that came to see her.

“Play nice, X,” Darian warned.

Xander said nothing, listening to the thoughts of those around him to ensure his own safety. He held out his hand, palm up, to the Oracle in the typical greeting – and permission for her to check his future.

“Didn’t I tell you that you’d be back?” she asked in satisfaction.

“Not the time for an I-told-you-so
,
kiri
,” Dusty muttered.

“With Xander, I’ll take what victories I can.” She placed her hand on his. “One condition, Xander.”

“Whatever.”

Get me out of this ring. I can’t stand physical fighting
, she ordered.

Xander nodded and waited, feeling the familiar tingle spread through him. By giving her access to him, he was also gaining access to her. She knew it; one of the few limitations an Oracle had was the inability to see her own future. Last time they met, they traded futures. Xander’s ability was far weaker than hers, but he was able to see certain parts of another’s path when in their minds.

He learned his lesson about sharing information with Sofi. She’d altered her own future, based on what he showed her. He lost a round with her in the immortal world, when she manipulated him into saving her life and those of her sisters-in-law. She threatened to reveal the secret of his gem to his enemies, a secret recently spilled.

She didn’t do it, though; he was able to tell from her thoughts.

The silver around her eyes swirled hypnotically for a moment. With a frustrated sigh, she lifted her hand and gazed at him pensively.

I can barely See with you,
she said into his mind.
Ask your question.

Xander responded.
You told me months ago I was in for a surprise that would answer a question I didn’t know needed asking. You said it was a matter of life and death.

Sofi smiled, considered, then asked, “Do you know the question?”

Not exactly. But I think I know the answer.

“Yeah, you do.” Her blue eyes flared, and she stepped closer to him, until they were toe-to-toe. “By the way, I win this round, too.”

“Not yet.”

“Oh, yeah, I did.” She was proud of herself.

“You wanna go?” He held out his arms. “You’re dressed for a beating.”

“Unlike you, I don’t need to resort to violence to win.”

“There are days, bitch …” he growled.

“The feeling is mutual.”

“One of you step back before I lose it.” Dusty’s sharp order made the Oracle jump. She glared at him but obeyed.

Xander wasn’t pleased at all with the interaction. Sofi indirectly confirmed something he didn’t want to acknowledge: Jessi was in his life for more than one reason. He still didn’t understand the question Sofi wanted him to know, but the fact the woman capable of operating on stealth-mode was the answer did not set well with him.

He retreated from the ring to those waiting around it. Darian shook his head at him without speaking while Eden smiled. Xander didn’t leave, though, not yet. He crossed his arms and watched those in the ring.

Dusty grudgingly faced off against Sofi once more. The Oracle wasn’t intimidated by Xander; she wasn’t about to let him disrupt her day, a thought he heard when they were touching. The two began sparring slowly. Xander watched, reading their movements before they occurred.

“How’s life?” Eden asked, joining Xander.

“Too interesting.”

“You know, I’m enjoying it here.”

“Why?” Xander glanced at the Original Human, who seemed genuinely pleased. For some reason, the idea Eden was content after so short a time irritated him.

Right uppercut,
he said to Sofi.

“Nice shot, Sofi!” Darian called a moment later. “Almost got him.”

“These Guardians are remarkable. I recall those I met before the Schism. I don’t remember them being as dedicated or genuine or approachable,” Eden said. “There was always a divide before the Schism.”

“Or maybe those Guardians knew you wanted to wipe out their world,” Xander pointed out. “Your second attempt was almost as successful as your first.”

“Possibly. I suppose that didn’t help things at all.” Eden grinned, appearing even younger than Xander remembered.

Fake left, right to the kidney,
Xander instructed the Oracle in the ring.

A second later, Sofi gave a cry of victory. She yanked off the gloves and headgear.

“One hit, I’m out,” she said to Dusty. “Those are the rules.”

“Sofi,” he objected. “You need to learn.”

“I told you, I don’t need to. I’m an Oracle. I can make it so the fight never happens,” she returned. Not giving him a chance to argue, she ducked through the ropes and leapt to the floor. “We’re done, Xander.” She breezed past him towards the entrance.

Realization crossed Dusty’s face. “Fucking Oracles,” he said.

His part of their deal fulfilled, Xander turned to Eden.

“I’ll be staying,” Eden said. The sparkle in her gaze made Xander wary.

“Why?”

“I like it here, and I’ve got nowhere else to go. Besides” Eden winked “Sofi and I have a bet about you.”

Two fucking Oracles.
Both of them had an interest in Xander’s life, one out of spite and the other out of a sense of shared history.

“You know where to find me,” Xander said and stepped away. Before any of them were able to remind him to call next time before he dropped in, he was gone.

Back to his condo, where the cat waited for him at the top of the stairs overlooking the front door. Not that he used the front door, but it’s where Cat was always perched when he returned.

It was past sundown, and he was already hungry again. He opened the fridge for a snack and dragged out a selection of meat the size of his arm.

Troubled, Xander didn’t bother taking his snack to the table but wolfed it down over the sink, too troubled to care about the mess he made.

Jessi arrived fifteen minutes early the next day, in case Xander or Ingrid called in a substitute after she quit. She ascended the stairwell, unwilling to beg for her job back and hoping Xander didn’t make her. Assuming he would, she had rehearsed a plea in the car on the way over. The thought of saying it out loud to him made her want to throw things
.

Not that
she
should do the begging. The damn vampire bit her. If anything, he should apologize in order for her to work for him again.

To her surprise, he sat on the porch overlooking the beach. The door to his bedroom was open, and there was a note on the iPad that sat within plain view on the kitchen counter nearest the stairs. Jessi waited for him to tell her to leave or worse. She tiptoed to the iPad and peered at the note.

Told you so. Waiting for my coffee. – X

Relief and anger left her silent and speechless. Finally, she released a long, slow breath. At least she wasn’t fired. She’d play his little games – as long as he didn’t bite her – if it meant she had a second chance to get her hands on that necklace.

Jessi glared at the back of his head. He had to hear the coffee maker but didn’t bother to check to see it was her. He already knew, which pissed her off.

She crossed to his room, startled to see a woman in his bed that wasn’t Toni. Had he gone through Toni
and
this one?

She muttered curses. She went to the bed and woke the sleeping brunette.

The woman stared at her, eyes glazed. Jessi shook her as the woman faded into sleep again. There were two small scars on her neck. Jessi started to reach for her own before she winced at the pain. Her forearm was still swollen, Jonny’s fingers clearly outlined in black-purple bruises on her skin.