Twisted (Rogues Shifter Series Book 3) (29 page)

“Sinc, “ I spoke softly to let her know I wasn’t angry. “You hav
e all of us behind you, no matter what crazy shit you pull. Even if I get angry enough to throw you off the team, it would be a temporary leave, just until you got your act back together. You have an incredible mind, Sinc. Let me in for a minute, so I can speak to you privately. She looked at me with narrowed eyes and then shrugged, so I sent to her,
“I know you didn’t sleep with
Sasha. You only made it seem like you did
.” Her head jerked up and she looked at me with wide eyes.
“No, Sasha didn’t say anything, and I won’t say anything to anyone. But listen to me. Don’t let what your parents did when you were a kid mess up your life now.  And for the record, I’m only saying this because the work you did when you and Ethan were together was the best you’ve ever done. My motives are strictly professional.”
  She laughed as I broke the connection.

Rob spoke up. “Both of you need to work out some way of communicating your anger other than going for each
other’s throats. Sparring could work. Hunting together works well, too. You can wrestle and bite and claw at each other and heal up easily afterward.” This made them both grin. Although Kyle’s leopard was larger, Sinc’s snow leopard could sneak up on him easily and have the advantage of surprise.

My tone was cold when I picked up the conversation, “But if you ever disrupt another meeting or an assignment with your ridiculous, childish behavior, I will put you both on probation without pay and send you to Maya for couple’s therapy.”  Th
ey groaned. Kyle started to complain, so I gave him my best serious glare and he just mumbled something about hunting together being a good idea. “Go. I’ll be in touch regarding the Los Altos pack.” They practically ran each other down getting out of the room.

I turned to Rob. “So tell me how
our lion, Flynn, is doing.”

He sat in the chair that
Kyle had vacated. “Flynn’s only hope now, may be Jackie.”

Chapter Fifty-four

Bridgett:
1:00 AM Monday

The meeting was over, Sasha and Heinrich were talking to Aaron and Ralph about the house, Kyle and Sinc were in Garrett’s office getting reamed, Jackie and Ethan were talking on the patio and I was cleaning up th
e mess with William helping me.

“You cou
ld go look at the plans, I can handle this.”

“I’d rather stay here.” He brushed a strand of hair out of my eyes. My hair needed help in the worst way. It was growing out so my light brown roots were showing and it had absolutely no style anymore. And that wasn’t all. My nails were cracked, the hole in my lip was closing up from not wearing the stud, (I’d taken it out after Kennet had beaten me), and we won’t even talk about my clothes
, which were getting really small on me. Not that I was getting chubby, I was just finally eating right and working out, so I was gaining muscle and a couple of curves here and there.

I looked at him sheepishly. “I’m a mess, I know.”

“You’re fine. You’re starting to look healthy.”  He laughed.  “Me too, I guess.”

I looked at his broad shoulders and his firm chest. I touched his bicep. “Yeah, you’re looking really healthy.”
I must have sounded kind of flirty.

“Sasha and Heinrich make me work out. I guess it’s paying off.” He grinned at me, proud of his body f
or maybe the first time ever.

When we’d finished cleaning everything up, he grabbed my hand. “So, let’s go to a movie tomorrow night. Or I could take you to the mall to buy you some clothes and get your hair done. Not that you need to change anything, I like the way your clothes fit.” He looked me over and I blushed. “Garrett paid me for working the case so I want to buy you something.”

“I have money that my dad left me, plus I’ll have rent money from the club, too. But I’d like to go with you to the mall and try on clothes and you can tell me what you like me in, If that’s not too boring for you. Guys don’t usually like that stuff. I’ll need to get clothes for Faerie too. I guess I should ask Liam tomorrow what I should get.”

“Probably flowing chiffon gowns with lots of flowers in your hair.” He was laughing at me.

“Huh. I wonder how they’d feel about a not so flowy leather dress.”

“I’d totally love it.” I watched him imagining me wearing a tight leather dress and it m
ade me a little warm. “Maybe a short, red one.”

“I think we’re getting carried away. I’l
l ask Liam.”

“No matter what he says, I’m getting you the leather dress.” Whoa, his voice had dropped and was sounding really sexy. I think William was picking up some of Sasha’s habits, not that I minded too much. Where normally I hated going clothes shopping, this was one trip to the mall I was going to love.

“C’mon Jet, if you’re not too tired, I’ll teach you how to play pool.” Jet had become his pet name for me. He said it was because I was a fast cheetah, but also 'cause it sounded like the end of my name. We ran downstairs and he showed me how to hold the cue and break the balls. Then he demonstrated some simple shots, setting them up for me and letting me try them again and again. He was really very patient and, like a perfect gentleman, ignored my curses when I missed yet another shot. Patience really isn’t one of my special qualities. Although to be honest, most of the time I missed because I was high on his scent and the feel of his breath on my neck as he leaned over me to show me how to aim the cue.

Sasha and Heinrich came downstairs and immediately started in on William. Heinrich said, “Bridgett, if you want lessons you should ask me or Sasha. William can’t play for shit.”

“We beat him every time.” Sasha piped in. He was instantly next to me, having pushed William out of the way, his arm around my waist. His sweet breath was on my neck and I couldn’t help but take in a deep lungful. He was very yummy, but not my flavor of choice.

William hissed at him and shoved him away from me. Befor
e Sasha could retaliate I said, "You've already messed up the lives of two shifters. Are you trying for three?"

He leaned in a little closer and whispered. "I'll ignore that because you don't know all the facts." He picked up a cue, leaned over and pocketed a ball with ease. "If you want to learn to play pool from Will, that's fine. Just don't expect to ever beat anyone you play."

"You're a bully, Sasha."

He laughed at me. "Training is tomorrow at 7:00 PM. Don't eat too much for dinner. I don't want you losing it."

Furious, I snapped back, "I'm done with your brand of training." I went to push him away, but he backed out of reach.

He spoke with a patronizing tone. "You still haven't learned
the hierarchy here in the house. I’m Garrett’s second, which puts me above you. Garrett tells me to train you and Will and then I tell
you
when the next session is. You two show up five minutes early ready to work. There's no further discussion.”

“
I can ask Garrett for another trainer." I crossed my arms.

"You can do that." He nodded. "But he'll tell you that if you refuse to train with me, you won't ever be a part of the team."

Will spoke up, pulling me closer. "Sash worked us hard, but he wasn't cruel. He didn't ask us to do more than we were capable of. We'll learn faster with him training us."

I looked from Will back to Sasha. "So this is another one of those learn-to-suck-it-up-and-follow-orders circumstances." Sasha smiled and nodded, but I scowled back. "Fine. Tomorrow at 7:00 PM."

Sasha and Heinrich were laughing at me. “Well that was much better than the last time."

I crossed my arms over my chest and glowered at him. "But I'm still mad about Sinc and Ethan. They were in love. You've probably never been in love."

"Not true. I have been in love, as surprising as that may seem. I was turned at twenty-five not twelve. But what about you Bridg? In your seventeen years have you ever been in love?" He teased.

I looked at William who’d
been willing to go up against Sasha, despite the fact that Sasha would do serious damage if it came to a fight. He’d stopped himself from taking my blood, given me his own blood to heal my wounds and told me he was crazy about me even though I had some serious flaws. He lifted his light blue eyes to look at me and smiled, his tiny dimple appearing like magic. They were all waiting for my answer. 

I looked back at Sasha and smiled, nodding. “Yes
.” William pulled me next to him and wrapped his arm around my waist, then gently kissed my head.

“Yeah? “ Sasha smiled. “That’s cool.” He winked at Will. “So how about a pool lesson from a master? I’ll behave like a perfect ge
ntleman.” I giggled when Sasha bowed and even Will had to grudgingly admit that Sasha was a much better player. I spent the next hour hanging with the vamps downstairs, enjoying their company and my very first pool lesson.

Chapter Fifty-five

Jackie
: 1:00 PM Monday

I woke up feeling relaxed and at peace with the world.  Well, at least the relaxed part was true since
"plus tard" had been amazing. As far as being at peace, well, I was at peace whenever Garrett was around.

L
ately, I was throwing myself into his arms the moment he walked into the room, not wanting to spend even one second without feeling him next to me. Nights spent with Garrett happily banished all thoughts of Kennet and the horrors of those few days from my mind, but unfortunately, with the light, came more fragile feelings. While Garrett rested, I felt adrift and increasingly apprehensive. I hadn’t told him about my feelings, and I knew that I probably should, but I couldn't face talking about any of it.

I lay in bed this morning and tried to remember every moment we’d shared over the last two days. I found that I was squirreling them away, cherishing each one, then locking them up in my heart
—just in case. That ‘just in case’ seemed to pop into my mind at the oddest times, when Garrett wasn’t awake to smile at me, or to twine his fingers around mine, or sometimes even when he was right in the next room, but out of sight. I could never take our lives together for granted ever again, because a part of me seemed to have disappeared. That confident part that looked at the world in an almost cocky way, that believed that nothing really bad could ever happen to me as long as I had Garrett as my lifemate. I missed those mornings when I could look in the mirror and grin at whatever the day brought, good or bad.

So I clung to each tiny smile and each touch of his hands and lips, and each loving word whispered into my ear
, and I locked them away in my heart—just in case. If those moments were held there, secure and untouched, Kennet or someone like him, could never truly take them away. Garrett would always be there inside of me and would sustain me the way his tiny magical flame had sustained me in my darkest moments with Kennet.

I wiped away the tears running down my cheeks and got up to take a shower. I didn’t want to wallow in these feelings, they just snuck up on me at the strangest times. After I dressed, I kissed my handsome
sleeping lover on the cheek and went downstairs to look for Liam. He took one look at me and gestured that I sit at the table to eat. I really hadn’t been eating much lately, not having much of an appetite, and this afternoon wasn’t an exception. He gave me my favorite omelet with ham, toast and juice, telling me to skip the coffee and then sat down across from me.

“I can’t eat all of this.”

“You need to eat. I can’t help you if you’re physically weak.”

“Are you going to work some magic on me? Am I doing so poorly?
" He didn't respond with words, only looking at me with worry. "I’m trying, you know.” I glanced down at the plate of food, already feeling frustrated by my inability to move forward.

Liam spoke softly. “Eat, please, and I’ll talk.” I smiled thinly and stuffed a mouthful of eggs into my mouth. It was absolute heaven, so mor
e forkfuls followed the first.

“Kennet tortured Ethan and Aedus
with visions that they believed were real. Your torture was a combination and so the visions and the reality are linked together much more strongly. I can’t go into your head and do for you what you did for them. It might temporarily help you, but it could all come crashing back, causing you more pain. There are two things that I
can
do that might help you, so I'll describe them and give you the choice.”

I looked down and was surprised to see that I’d finished my eggs. I started on the ham. “Ok
ay, so give me the two options.” Sitting with Liam made me feel safe, too.

“I can make you forget it
. I can go into your head and wipe out the painful parts and just leave the parts you want to remember, like the work you did with Isaiah.”

I sat very still for what seemed like a long time. He could make me forget the beatings, the rape of my mind, the sound of his laugh when he whipped me and the gleam in his eye as he left the room after I’d collapsed on the bed. But he’d also be taking away the power of what I’d managed to accomplish with Isaiah’s help and my motives for
handing him over to suffer.