Seduction's Shift (10 page)

“Him,” she replied quickly nodding in Davi’s direction. “He said I was born to help the tribe, it was my responsibility to stay here with them forever. Even after Nick—” She let the rest of that thought go in silence. Kalina didn’t need to know how young and foolish she’d once been. And had been fairly recently, she thought with a shake of her head.

“Where did you want to go? If you don’t mind my asking.”

Ary didn’t really mind. In fact, since she’d already started, it was sort of a relief to get this off her chest. It was even better that Kalina was from the States. Someone who was born and raised in the Gungi who would tell Ary she was being foolish for wanting anything beyond the canopy of trees.

With a deep inhale and slow exhale she said, “To the States to study medicine.”

Now it was Kalina’s turn to look shocked. “Why wouldn’t he want you to get an education? You could learn so much more about medicine in college, then you could use that knowledge to continue to help the tribe.”

“That’s what I said. But he didn’t agree.”

“What about your mother?”

Ary shook her head. “She believes whatever he says. Like every word that comes from his mouth is straight from some higher being.”

“That might change when she hears what he’s done. What do you think will happen to him when we return? I mean, will the Elders invoke some type of punishment?” Kalina asked.

Ary shrugged. “I do not know about the Elders. But as for my mother, she will not care what anyone says. It is always what Davi says. And it makes me sick.”

“Can’t say I blame you. I’m not letting any man think for me. No matter how much I love Rome, we’re partners, each with thoughts and reasoning that can contribute to the tribes and our lives. It’s not all about the mighty male.”

Ary had to laugh at the way Kalina said that last part. Her voice had deepened like a male’s and she’d puffed up, banging her fists lightly on her chest. “I know what you mean. I hate that way of thinking.”

“It’s barbaric,” Kalina offered with a chuckle of her own. “Me man. You woman. You fetch.”

Ary nodded. “You heal and cook and clean. I lead, you follow.”

They both laughed, and for the first time in all her life Ary felt like she had a friend, or at the very least someone who saw things the way she did. That made her feel good, even if it was only momentary.

“What’s so funny?” Nick asked.

He’d obviously fallen back from the group to catch up with them. Or eavesdrop, which sounded better to Ary.

“None of your business,” she snapped back. It sounded catty. No, juvenile. But she didn’t care. She was pissed at herself for falling into his arms so easily again. Yet she was also proud of the way she’d walked away from him, as if it meant absolutely nothing.

She was sure that’s how he saw it—sex with the poor little forest shifter one more time. Then he’d be on his way back to his home, where he undoubtedly had other females to have sex with. The bastard.

Kalina stifled a laugh and skipped ahead of them so that Nick now walked right beside Ary.

“You don’t have to bite my head off every time I say something to you,” he said tersely.

“Really? Tell me, what should I do when the great Dominick Delgado decides to speak to me?”

“You could try being civil. We are adults, you know.”

“You’re right. We are adults. So what Kalina and I were discussing was private. Is that better?” Ary didn’t feel better, that was for sure.

Last night had been wonderful on a purely physical level. In the light of day—or the dim sunlight that managed to creep through the canopy of the forest—she thought it was a mistake. Yet another one she’d made where he was concerned. In the last few hours she’d steeled her resolve to not let him get to her, on any level. And yet, now that he was beside her, warning bells were going off in her head. Her body—that traitorous shell—was responding in its own way. The way it always had where this man was concerned.

“It would be better if we weren’t in this situation.”

How did he do that? How did simple words spoken from him cut her so deep?

“I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again.” She paused and took a deep breath. “And I’ll try to say it with as much civility as possible. I didn’t ask you to come.”

“You didn’t have to. As soon as I heard you were missing, there was no other option for me.” He spoke quietly, as if the words were meant only for her.

No. That’s not the type of man he was.

“Then I thank you,” she said reluctantly. It was the right thing to do. Besides, she couldn’t blame Nick for being who and what he was. It was mostly her fault for fantasizing where there were no possibilities.

“When we get back to the Gungi, I want you to stay with me.”

It was her turn to stop walking. “What?”

“I want you to stay with me. That way I’ll know you’re all right.”

He looked at her as if his words should have been self-explanatory, as if she should fall into his arms or onto her knees and kiss his feet with gratitude.

Her insides churned with irritation. “I’ll be all right in my own home. I’m the one who lives here.”

Nick shifted the backpack that Lucas had been carrying earlier on his back. Ary had seen him take the bag from the young shifter, hefting it onto his back as if it weighed no more than a feather. Lucas’s small frame had been hunched over while he carried supplies for the little group.

“I’ll feel better if you’re with me.”

“I won’t.” Which wasn’t a lie. Already, the thought of being in close proximity with Nick longer than it would take to get them back to the Gungi was causing her heart to pound.

“Why are you being so difficult?” he asked, his voice rising.

“Not doing what you want makes me difficult?” she fired back.

“I came here to help. You’re acting like I was the one who kidnapped and betrayed you.”

“No, Nick. You’re the one who left me.”

They were the hardest words that had ever escaped her lips. Her throat felt dry and tears threatened to spring from her eyes. With fingers clenched into fists, Ary walked away before she could say or do anything else she’d regret.

Chapter 10

The walls shook with the vibrations from his roaring. Rome and X shared a knowing glance and walked inside the dwelling owned by Nick’s parents anyway. Nick hadn’t come to the
santa casa
where they’d gathered for dinner and the discussion of what would happen to the Serinos. Neither had the Serinos, for that matter.

It wasn’t that Rome and X didn’t have an idea of what was going on with Nick, but there seemed to be something else that he wasn’t telling them. And while Rome was all for giving his friend the space and time to share what was going on in his personal life, if there were something that could add to the situation they were presently going through, he wanted to know now.

“You tryin’ to redecorate?” X asked as they walked to the back of the dwelling, where wicker furniture was tossed to the side and there were scratches on the mud-packed walls.

Nick turned, not in the least surprised to see them.

“I’m trying not to go out and kill somebody. Per your orders,” he said, nodding in Rome’s direction.

Rome picked up a chair, turned it right-side up, and sat down. X opted to stand, folding his arms across his massive chest and glaring at Nick. He looked calm enough; Rome had to assume he’d made this mess prior to finding Ary.

“You didn’t come to the
santa casa,
” Rome said.

“Didn’t want to” was Nick’s nonchalant reply.

Rome continued, “The Elders are trying to figure out what to do about Davi.”

“Kill the bastard and burn his remains. How’s that sound?”

X chuckled. “I actually agree with that.”

Rome shook his head. “No. We won’t kill one of our own. I’ve given them some ideas that will hold Davi accountable and warn against any other types of treason against the tribe.”

“Always the diplomat,” Nick retorted.

“If you have something to say, Nick, just say it.” This wasn’t the Nick he knew; it wasn’t the Nick he’d grown up with, worked with. There was definitely something else eating at his friend.

“I said what I had to say. Kill Davi. Find Sabar and kill his sorry ass.”

Rome nodded, holding back his own discontent around the situation. “Then what? Who do you want to kill next? And are you going to be in a better mood once they’re all dead?”

“Damn right,” Nick replied, running a hand down his face.

He understood Rome’s concern. His longtime friend probably thought he was overreacting when he should be in some sort of celebratory mood. Sure, Nick was relieved that Ary was safe—more than relieved if he was totally honest with himself. There was no way to describe how holding her in his arms and running out of that burning house made him feel. She was still a very strong part of him. That wasn’t going to change.

But without Sabar’s head on a platter, he was still a danger to Ary. In Nick’s mind, that meant he still had a right to be more than cautious.

“What do you want me to say, Rome? He sold his only child out for what? For some extra cash in his pocket? Davi’s always been sneaky and conniving. That’s why he wasn’t here when we arrived. He knew where she was all along. He’s always kept secrets, always tried to control the situation.”

“Is that why you left all those years ago and never came back? Because Davi was trying to control the situation?” Rome felt they now might finally be getting to the root of the problem. He watched Nick carefully.

Nick grew quiet, turning away from Rome. It wasn’t what he wanted to talk about, even though he’d been unable to think of anything else. Especially not since Ary had reminded him yet again of that night so long ago. Nick knew coming back to the forest was going to trigger memories. He knew seeing her again wouldn’t be easy. And he’d touched her, tasted her. No, this wasn’t fucking easy for him. It was probably the hardest thing he’d ever had to do—besides the night he’d walked away from her.

“Davi and my father thought it was best that I go and not come back. They thought—” Nick stopped, took a deep breath.

Just how much did he want to tell them? Everything, he decided. He’d held it in for too long. Whatever had gone down that night, what Nick had seen in the forest, all of it circled back to Davi Serino. And that was no coincidence.

“After we moved away from the forest, my parents were obsessed with creating a better life for the shifters. Caprise was about to experience her
acordado
. My father took advantage of that and planned a return trip for all of us, said it would be good for Caprise to see where she’d come from since she’d been born in the States. I just thought of it as a vacation.

“Long story short, I met Ary. We hit it off. The next day her father got all territorial and demanded an apology from my parents because I’d deflowered his daughter and
curanderos
weren’t supposed to mate with regular shifters. It was such bullshit,” Nick said through gritted teeth. The thought of that conversation years ago still rubbed him the wrong way.

“They’re the true slaves to the tribe,” X said with disgust. “We need new laws around here.”

Rome nodded. “That’s what we’re working on.”

“But that’s just in the States. I’m talking about in the forest, too. Why should she have to stay in that house with a father who dictates to her then serves her on a platter to the highest bidder?”

X had a point, and Nick was glad somebody else was talking about drastic change instead of him.

“So Davi wanted you gone because you slept with Ary?” Rome asked.

Nick shook his head. “I don’t think that was the only reason.”

“What else?”

“Before the showdown with Davi, my parents and I went for a run. I picked up the scent of Rogues and followed it.”

“Always the hunter,” X said with a nod of approval to Nick.

“When I found them, it looked like strangers, not shifters. They were making some sort of exchange. There were crates marked with black symbols—like a shield of some sort—and they loaded them into a jeep. My guess is they were paying with cash in those brown bags. Later, when I asked my father about it, he told me I’d caused enough trouble and that I should forget what I’d seen.”

Rome shrugged. “I guess you did, since this is the first time I’ve heard this story.”

“I don’t like talking about the past.” Which was true: Nick’s philosophy had always been to live for the moment, to do what could be done in the here and now. The past was already done.

“What was that, sixteen years ago? Right about the time Sabar was kidnapped by Boden. So what was with that little transaction?” Rome asked, rubbing a hand over his goatee as he contemplated the new information.

X had begun pacing, something he did a lot when he was in deep thought. “We know Sabar’s dealing drugs now, since that’s what he wanted Ary to help him with. Boden had already left the forest, but he probably got started with drugs here and carried it over to the States. He would have taught Sabar everything he knew, which isn’t good. Question now is, how long was Serino helping Sabar, and was there anyone else involved?”

“I think Davi and my father knew,” Nick answered, recalling that night now with more clarity since he had no other choice. “When I told my father he seemed really nervous, wanted to know everything I’d seen and if I’d recognized anyone. The Serinos came in on the tail end of the conversation but could have easily heard what we were talking about.”

“I don’t see your father as a drug dealer,” Rome said.

Nick shrugged. “You know our parents weren’t what we originally thought they were. Dad had secrets even from the Assembly.”

Rome had discovered his father, Loren Reynolds, had also broken one of the
Ètica
rules—he’d told a human about the shadows. So far it looked like the human Loren decided to confide in was Julio Cortez, previous head of the Cortez Cartel. The current leader of the cartel was Julio’s son, Raul. How convenient would it have been if Boden thought Loren and Nick’s dad were working against an opposing drug cartel and decided to retaliate on all the shifters? But Boden hadn’t been heard from or seen in a few years. Sabar was the new Rogue leader as far as they knew.