Twisted (Rogues Shifter Series Book 3) (31 page)

“I had some very high octane fuel during ‘plus tard’.” She laughed and shoved me. “I don’t think I’ll have to use a donor today. Must be the demon blood floating to the surface.”

“Well that’s fine with me. I don’t like those donors of yours.”

“You don’t know them.”

“Just on principle.” She took in a deep breath, pulling my scent into her lungs.

“You’d like them all.”

“Well maybe we’ll just invite them to come with us to Paris in May.” She w
as baiting me to see what I'd say.

I played along. “I don’t think they’ll all be able to take off from work. Perhaps one or two.
" I pretended to think about it. "Carol should be able to come,”

“Did I say I wanted to know their names? In fact I think I expressly mentioned
not
wanting to know their names.” Her face was buried in the hollow at the bottom of my neck and her hand clutched at my shirt.

“Carol was at the bonding ceremony with her mothe
r. In fact they were all there. I introduced them to you, I just didn’t mention that they were donors.” I was stroking her hair to calm her.

“That was sneaky.” She was quiet aga
in, an arm firmly positioned around my waist, clinging to a few extra minutes alone with me. Recently I’d felt her anxiety if I wasn’t near by. I held her closer and made slow circles with my hand on her back, taking in the comforting scent of cheetah and wildflowers.

“Ok, I’m going.” She got up slowly and I grabbed her hand as she stood.

“You can stay as long as you like.”

“You won’t get any work done. Come and find me when yo
u’re all finished. I’ll send in Bridgett.”

Chapter Fifty-seven

Bridgett:
5:00 PM Monday

Jackie had looked kind of sad when she’d come back into the kitchen to ask me to go to Garrett’s office.
Liam noticed too, so to cheer her up, he asked if she'd like him to switch her hair back to her normal color again. She nodded without much enthusiasm and suddenly she was a gorgeous blonde once more. She thanked him and then went out to sit on a lounge chair on the patio without even a book or an IPod, curling up to stare into the woods. I figured I’d talk to Garrett and then see if there was anything I could do for her.

I sat in one of the chairs across from his desk. “Bridgett, your former pack has applied for protection. Apparently your uncle’s old pack is harassing them. They are seriously outnumbered.” He sighed and relaxed back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other. “To be honest I’d like to just sit back and let them fight it out for themselves. A few less Brownlow and Pine Ridge weres around is not a problem for me or the fae. But we have to protect the shifters and the humans in the area. Their fight could spill over and innocents could get hurt.
"

I thought about Fred and his sweet mate and his three adopted kids. All four of the remaining males had mates and families. I knew what my Uncle’s pack was like. They wouldn’t just kill the men. I couldn’t let that happen.

Garrett was watching me when I lifted my head to meet his eyes. “I get why you don’t want to get involved, but I’m going to help them, if I can. My Uncle’s pack will kill the men and the children and take the women. They’ll get passed around.  I can’t let that happen. I know all of these families.”

“What are you going to do on your own?” He was smiling just a little bit, which gave me some hope
.

“I’ll ask for help. I’ll ask Jackie and William and Maya and maybe Farrell, ‘cause I don’t think Liam likes me too much. Oh, and I can ask Angel too, ‘cause I have some of my own money now so I can pay him.”

“But you wouldn’t think of asking me for help?” He arched an eyebrow and tilted his head.

“I don’t think you like me very much either, Garrett. And I don’t blame you.”
I felt my face heat up as I looked down at my folded hands.

“I didn’t care for
you very much at first. You caused Jackie no end of problems and Liam is one of my closest friends. To be honest, I almost killed you the night that Jackie was taken. But when I saw your courage with Kennet, I was surprised. I’ve grown to respect you, especially after you ignored your pain and stepped up and helped in the search and then apologized to the fae prisoners. I see in you some of the qualities that I admire in Jackie. I know you’ve been through a lot; losing your mother and your father. But you're fortunate enough to have found a sister and along with her came a brother-in-law—me. I’m your family too. So don’t ever hesitate to ask me for help. If I can’t or won’t, I’ll always tell you why.”

I said the only thing I could think of at the moment. “So will you help me?” He laughed and I blushed again. “I’m sorry, I should have said thank you first for all those nice things you said.”

“You’re welcome. Yes, we’ll help your pack. Do you have any attachment to anyone in your Uncle’s pack?”

I shuddered. “No, not any adults. But I think the whole thing is kinda strange.”

“In what way?” He sat forward to listen.

“They’re not in good shape. My Uncle was a really crappy Alpha and he didn’t take care of his pack the way my dad did or Aaron does. They’re physically weak, and even though there’s a bunch of them, I don’t think they’d leave their territory to attack another. They all have jobs and families and they’re struggling to make ends meet. Also we have a treaty with them, so they’re totally breaking it.”

“You think someone else may be behind this?”

“Yeah, definitely.”

“Thank you, Bridgett. We’ll meet with Fred and his pack tonight at 9 PM at the club. Please call him and let him know. Tell them to get their mates and children someplace safe, preferably out of town and not in a hotel. I can recommend a few safe houses if they need them. Then I want you to call Ethan and Kyle and I want one of them to call Sinc. They should meet us there at 9:00 tonight."

“They won’t have a lot of money to pay you with. I don’t think they’ve reopened the club yet. But I have money now, from my dad, and soon I’ll have some rent money from the club. And I guess I should think about selling the house.”

“Hold on to your money. Use it for college.” Jackie must have told him about our conversation because he grinned at me teasingly.”And you shouldn’t just rent the club to them. When it starts to make a profit again you need to ask for a percentage.”

“
Okay. Thanks.“  I think he was surprised when I hugged him. I turned back around before I got to the door. “Jackie seems really out of it today. Is there anything you can think of that I can do for her?”

“She’s battling depression. Just be around for her and make sure she eats, that’s really important. Liam has worked something out that should help her.”

“Okay, sure.” I left and then made my calls. Everything was good to go when I saw William walk in the front door.

Chapter Fifty-eight

J
ackie: 6:00 PM Monday

Less than a week ago I
'd crept out my bedroom window and snuck into the woods to hand myself over to Kennet. I could still see the entire route I took to get to him, every tree, shrub, and stone that I ran past is burned into my memory. Each stride taken as a normal female shifter, before I became damaged.

Yesterday, we
'd had out team meeting in the kitchen and I was able to smile at them all and flirt with Garrett. Yet as hard as I try to block it out, part of me is always in that field with Kennet as he bound my wrists and whispered into my ear that he wouldn’t harm me if I cooperated. Part of me is always tied to that bed, hearing the whip pulled back before it cut across my back.

Being back home again
wasn’t turning out to feel as—as safe as I’d visualized it while laying face down on the bed, bleeding. Everyone’s been trying so hard to act like everything's normal again, and so I’ve been doing my best to convince them that I’m fine. But Liam knows. Otherwise he wouldn't have suggested the potion. And Garrett knows. I'm sure he's worried about me.

I ran stiff fingers through my hair in frustration. I don't want him to worry anymore. I want to be well, I want... I closed my eyes tightly to hold back my tears.
Probably
everyone knows what a mess I am.

Wasn’t it just this afternoon that I was laughing with Bridgett and Liam? How could my mood take such a
horrible plunge?

The patio doors slid open behind me. Part of me
prayed that it was Garrett. He was really the only one who could make me relax and forget.

“Come in to eat dinner, Jackie. I heated up some stew.” Bridgett sounded worried. I didn’t want them all worrying about me. I wanted them to leave me here and go do whatever they needed to do.

“Thanks Bridgett, but I can’t.”

“I’ll bring it out here.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t eat just yet, maybe later. I really need to be alone for awhile.” I know I sounded annoyed at her. She was trying to help me.

“You have to eat, Jackie, or you won’t get well.” She sat down in the chair next to mine.

“Do I seem ill? I just feel really tired and tense.”

“You’re depressed and you’re exhausted and your body needs food, so come inside a
nd eat.” I didn’t move. “I’ll be right back.” She disappeared and I started to shiver. The night was getting cooler. William appeared with a tray and silverware and a cozy throw blanket which he draped around me.

“We’ll keep you company while you eat.” He put the tray on the small table between the two lounge chairs and then  pulled the bench over and sat down as Bridgett came out with the stew, a mug of tea and some fresh homemade bread. She’d brought some for herself so she sat and took a forkful and lifted it to her mouth. She waited for me to do the same, so I took a tiny amount and bit into it and chewed. She grinned a
nd then chewed her own helping.

“If I don’t eat are you going
to try the old airplane-flying–into-the-hanger bit?”

“Only as a last resort.”  We smiled at each
other and I took another bite.

“I don’t really feel like myself today. Maybe I’m coming down with a cold.” She looked at my food and then back at me. I took another bite.

“We’re having a meeting tonight at
The Wild
with the four weres in my old pack. They’ve petitioned us for protection and Garrett’s gonna help them.” She looked so happy, but then her expression darkened when she looked at me. “You don’t have to come, if you don’t feel up to it.”

“Is Garrett going?” She nodded. “I’ll go too
, then.” I took another bite, and was surprised at how much better I was starting to feel. The delicious food was giving my body some strength and Bridgett and Will's kindness was feeding my spirit.

“Do me a favor, Bridgett, if I go off by myself, drag me back and make me play Mario Kart with you or watch a movie or something. When I’m by myself I think too much.”
I remember too much and I hurt too much.

“Sure, I can do that, no problem. And Garrett says I have to make sure that you eat, so finish up.” I smiled and took another bite.

“Bridgett Nightingale.” William grinned at her.

“Huh?”

“She was a nurse, Florence Nightingale…never mind.” He brushed her hair out of her face and looked at her with genuine affection. I noticed that his aura was almost the same blue as Garrett’s. They’ll be good for each other. He saw me watching him staring at Bridgett and he turned away, probably thinking that I might not be too happy about it.

“William, I think it’s great
—the two of you.”

“You do?”

“Sure. I’m a romantic.”

“Yeah, she told me that she used to…”

“Bridgett
!” I sent
.
She looked at me and I glared at her. “
That was private sister talk.”

“Okay
, sorry.”
  She turned red, which made William laugh even though he hadn’t heard our exchange.

I looked down to discover that my stew was gone. “T
hanks guys.”

“Do you feel better?”

“Yes. I’ll go get changed for our werewolf adventure.” I got up and went to my room, deciding that I’d probably feel even better with a shower, so I stripped and stepped under the hot water. I shampooed my hair and then soaped up a washcloth and washed my body, enjoying the relaxing feel of the water hitting my back. After drying myself, I turned around slowly and looked at my naked reflection in the mirror.

The wounds were gone. There was no trace at all, at least on the outside, of what Kennet had done to me, a tribute to the healing powers of a shifter
who worked the ley lines and the work of the doctor who’d tended me. I wrapped a dry towel around myself and continued my appraisal. I was thinner and my hair had grown longer. I was glad to have my normal shade again, but the color did nothing to brighten up my very pale complexion. Lately, I no longer had the desire to apply makeup, feeling like it wouldn't help.

I looked around for my comb and then glanced up again
and froze. My reflection was the same, but instead of the shower behind me, there was the gray cement wall of my prison, splattered with some of my blood. I shut my eyes with a gasp and clutched at the edges of the sink, forcing myself to breathe slowly. When I opened them again, it was just me, in my bathroom, with the shower stall reflected behind me. I shook off the flashback, combed my hair roughly, then forced myself to walk to my closet to get something to wear for tonight. I wasn’t going to let myself fall apart. They needed me to be focused at this meeting. I was important to the team. I could do this.