Shadow Walker (11 page)

The heat of a blush crept over her cheeks, and she smirked. “No thank you.”

Dori shrugged and put on her mascara, then finished it all off with a touch of lipstick. Sighing, she flipped the compact closed and slipped everything back in her cosmetic bag and turned to look at them. “It really does suck being the plain-Jane standing with you two, I swear.”

“You’re far from plain.” Casey patted her thigh and shook her head. “You’ve got that Greek thing rocking. You’re gorgeous, make up or not.”

Dori grunted and sat back. “So says the two who don’t have to wear makeup to be gorgeous.”

Casey laughed and shook her head. “I learned at an early age that I could see beauty far easier for what it was than I could make one of myself.”

“You’re not plain. You’re one of those natural beauty girls, the ones who don’t need the makeup. People confuse makeup and beauty all the time. You’re a damn photographer so why the hell am I telling you what you already know. Honest Case, I don’t know what the woods have done to you, but you are smokin’ right now!”

Amber laughed at Casey’s reddening cheeks. “It’s all the herbal medicines Braedyn’s mom has pumped us full of.”

Dori raised her brows again and turned her attention to her. “You’re an herbalist, right? Any chance of me getting my hands on some of that…and is it legal? And if not…how easily can it be concealed?”

Laughing even harder, she shook her head. “I’ll see what I can get my hands on for you. I think the largest part of it is being out in the fresh air as much as possible. Just getting away from all the stress and the pollution will do wonders for you. I might be able to find some things here at a whole foods place I can fix up for you.” Amber shrugged. “If not I can send you some from the shop. We have a website you can check out, too.”

“Cool. You’ll have to show me.”

They sat in silence for a while after that. Amber stared out the window and watched the busy city disappear behind them. Furrowing her brows she looked up at the driver. “Where are we going, driver?” she asked when she caught his gaze in the rearview mirror.

“I’m sorry, I’d assumed that Mr. Weiss had informed you the meeting would take place just outside of Seattle. We’ll be there shortly, I assure you,” the driver said, his tone laced with apology.

Casey frowned when she and Amber exchanged a glance.

Dori shook her head and sighed. “Gary has never been this bad about a client before, has he?”

“No, he hasn’t.” Casey sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “But you know how he is with privacy. He’s wanting to keep everyone away who ferrets out any information before it’s done. His goal is to show…a different side of the client than what has been shown before.”

“Ah.” Dori nodded. “All grown up, right?”

The scenery changed into a cute little suburb, and then became rural. Amber was surprised to see the car slow and take a dirt road that wound into the trees. Furrowing her brow, she allowed the Tigress to rise, checking for danger. She cleared her throat and gave a slight shake of her head at Casey and shrugged her shoulders.

The forest thinned a bit and they saw the beautiful three-story mansion. In the center of the drive was an enormous water fountain, a cherub held buckets and was pouring the water into the pool at her feet. Though vines grew up the side of the home giving it an aged look, it couldn’t be more than ten years old. It had to have been the work of an incredibly skilled gardener.

Once the vehicle was parked, the driver walked around and opened the door for them. Amber watched a short, tubby, balding, and profusely sweating middle-aged man waddle down the steps to greet them. He stopped and took a double take at Casey before extending his arms in surprise.

“My, my, that vacation has done wonders for you!” The man grinned and took both of her hands. “You are absolutely glowing!” Perspiration dripped from his temples despite the cool weather and his face was flushed.

A blush rose in her friend’s cheeks. “Thank you, I needed that vacation more than anything. I hate to inform you, but this will be my final shoot.”

“You’re not retiring already?” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and mopped his brow.

“My husband writes a lot for nature magazines and we’re considering joining forces. Nature photography has always been my passion.”

He let out a deep breath and mopped his brow again. “New blood pressure medication the doctor put me on recently. It’s giving me hot flashes that rival my wife’s, I’m afraid.”

Amber tried hard to hide her frown when Casey finally introduced them. “Amber, meet Gary Weiss. This is Amber Vaughn, a very good friend of mine. She works with my husband. And you remember my assistant, Dori Xanthis.”

He smiled and extended the same double handed shake to her. Normally shaking hands with a stranger was very uncomfortable for her, but it was obvious the man was ill. This was what Aquene had trained her for, noting the signs of illness and treating them.

Amber gave a small smile while his cool grey eyes assessed her. “Nice to meet you,” she murmured and drew away.

“Casey, again I am sorry about the secrecy. Harris and Linda Sorenson are touring in Europe and won’t be back for quite some time. Aaron and I agreed the mansion held many different possible sets.”

“Is Aaron their only child?” Amber asked as they followed him to the door.

Gary turned and eyed them, he seemed apprehensive.

“I wouldn’t have brought them if I didn’t have complete faith in their judgment and ability to keep a secret.” Casey’s statement was firm, and she raised her brows in challenge. “It’s not too late for us to leave.”

He gave a nervous bob of his head and led them inside before turning to Amber. “Aaron was adopted actually. Harris and Linda were unable to conceive a child of their own. They discovered him in an orphanage in South Africa when they went on a humanitarian mission and couldn’t leave without him.”

Amber knew he was holding more information back.

“I would much rather not finish this, but it may help you understand the need for absolute privacy in this matter.”

A soft chuckle drifted down from the top of the stairs. “Oh come on Gary. There is no need for secrets.”

There was a twitch in the agent’s cheek when he looked up the stairs and the older man stammered a bit.

The Tigress seemed intrigued by the young man coming down the stairs. Amber shifted her attention and had to admit she was impressed. He was wearing gray slacks with a white collared button down and a pale blue V-neck sweater. His hair was reddish brown, a little curly at the top. The style no doubt to show he was still young enough to pull off the boyish look, but his eyes harbored the look of a man who had seen far more than the one looking down at them.

Looking at Casey, she could sense the Silver Wolf was intrigued too. They exchanged a quick glance.

“I was taken out of a very poor orphanage in South Africa. My parents claimed I was the worst looking of the entire bunch. Emaciated and half beaten. Even the owners of the orphanage claimed they’d no idea what had happened to me.” He shrugged. “I was seven when they adopted me. I learned to speak English pretty quick. This surprised them so much they hired tutors to teach me every language I had a fancy to learn. I’ve no memory of my life prior to my adoption.” Aaron stepped down off of the last step and stopped in front of Casey, extending his hand to hers.

Gary made the introductions. “Casey Maynard—”

“Walker,” she corrected and took the proffered hand.

“Yes, yes, I’m sorry.” He mopped his forehead and cleared his throat. “And these other lovely ladies are Amber Vaughn and Dori Xanthis.”

Aaron turned his attention to the women in line and gave each a firm handshake, not lingering too long on either one. He sighed and glanced around the large family room. “With my birthday coming up and the fact I’ll be graduating soon, Gary wanted to show the world a different side of me. He figured the family country home would be the best place to do that.”

Gary seemed to break out into even more sweats. His cheeks flushed further. He swabbed his brow again and ran a finger under his collar.

Amber frowned watching him. “How long have you been on the new blood pressure medicine?” she asked, watching him sway.

“Just a couple of days,” he flustered and closed his eyes a moment.

Taking his arm, Amber led him over to the couch and asked about the medication he was on.

His expression was confused when he looked at her. “Why are you asking?”

“Forgive me,” she said, giving a soft laugh. “I’m an herbalist and work with homeopathic medications. I work with Casey’s husband and his mother. Herbal remedies are my forte. I just may have something that won’t counteract with the new medication and can help your body get used to it without the ill side effects.”

“He looks like he should be in the hospital,” Casey said from across the room.

Aaron sighed. “He signed himself out yesterday.”

Pulling out her cellphone, Amber did a little research on the medication, keeping her attention split between the phone, Gary, and the conversation between the Alpha female and Aaron.

“Don’t worry, Amber will get him handled. This is more her specialty, she’s along to keep me company and to appease my husband.”

Nice
,
let him know right off the bat you’re not available,
Amber thought with a grin.

“A newlywed, you should be off on a honeymoon then, shouldn’t you?”

“Well this is my final shoot. You should consider yourself lucky, Mr. Sorenson.”

“That is a shame, I admire your work. I’m a bit of a fan.”

Casey scoffed with the slightest trace of sarcasm Amber had ever heard.
Damn, she’s good!

“You really know of my work?”

“I do, and I also know you’ve done more than the Hollywood crowd. If you’ll step into the hall here—”

Amber turned to see where her friend was being led while checking Gary’s pulse at the same time.

Aaron motioned at the wall and she saw Casey’s brows rise in surprise. “This is my favorite.”

She shook her head. “That is one of mine as well. As a matter of fact, it’s framed and hanging in my condo. This is what I’m going back to. Where my heart is.”

“I can tell. I do appreciate you making this effort, and I am honored to be your final client.” He cleared his throat. “I think we need to go have a look at Gary. I just may call an ambulance for him.”

“Let’s hope not. Let me go check and see if Amber is able to do anything.”

She looked up when Casey rounded the end of the couch and looked in her eyes.
“He is going to have a heart attack soon. I don’t believe he’ll survive transport to the hospital,”
Amber used the Tigress to speak to the wolf.
“Is there anything you can do to save him?”

Casey licked her lips and looked back at Dori and Aaron.
“I’ll need a distraction.”

Amber grinned and rose from the couch. With a wink, she walked past her friend.
“I’ll take care of the distraction, and I apologize ahead of time.”

Taking a deep breath, she left her friend on the couch with the ailing agent and made her way toward the assistant and the playboy. Concern was seen in Aaron’s eyes, Dori just seemed confused. Amber felt horrible for what she was about to do, but it was the only thing she could think of on such short notice.

It was never easy pretending to be clumsy when you were a tiger, but she was going to give it her best shot. Turning toward Dori, she tripped, slamming her forearm into the gorgeous Greek’s face, and they both tumbled to the floor.

“Oh shit! I am so sorry!” Amber flustered and scrambled to her feet.

Dori’s hands were clasped to her face, and she was groaning.

“I’ll take you to the kitchen for some ice,” Aaron said, helping her up and leading her down the hallway.

Dori groaned.

Glancing back at Casey, her eyes turned golden as she watched her friend pick up Gary’s hand and hold it to her lips. He gasped, his body jerked like an electric shock had passed through him.

Whistling, Amber followed into the kitchen to prevent anyone from returning to the sitting room too soon.

“Oh my God, how the hell can you hit that hard?” Dori wailed, leaning over the sink.

Watching the blood pour from her nose, Amber grimaced. She did have a tendency to forget her strength. “I am so sorry.” And she truly was.

“But you’re so…fucking
tiny
!”

Aaron stifled a snicker when he brought a Ziploc bag full of ice wrapped in a towel. He looked at Amber. It was obvious by the twitch at the edges of his mouth he was trying hard to hold back a grin.

Dori washed her face and laid a damp washcloth over her nose before applying the ice. “I think you’ve broken it.”

“Nah, it’s not broken.”

Turning, the Greek glowered at her. Amber cringed inwardly, there was bruising under the girl’s eyes.

“It’s bruised all to hell, but not broken.”

Dori growled under her breath and brushed past her.

Yay!
Amber gave an inward cheer, hoping Casey had enough time to use the gifts of the Silver Wolf to heal Gary. She gave them all another moment before returning to the living room.

“I think you picked up some static on the carpet before you sat down,” Gary said, pulling his handkerchief from his eyes. “You shocked me when you touched my hand.”

Casey smiled and patted his arm. “Maybe so.” She glanced up at Aaron. “You may want to call for an ambulance.”

“I already did when I was getting…ice.” He nodded at Dori. “How are you feeling, Gary?”

“Better than I did a few minutes ago. And this may be for the best. Can I trust you not to ruin him in my absence?” he asked, turning his attention back to Casey.

“We’ve worked together for years. Have I ever ruined one of your clients?”

“Hey.” Aaron gave a soft chuckle. “I’ve toned down drastically over the last year. I can’t get into too much trouble.”

“I will be back before that
cougar
, Kara Martin does the interview.” Gary grunted and swallowed. “I can’t leave you to deal with her.”