Twisted (Rogues Shifter Series Book 3) (37 page)

“Well, you’ve succeeded in sounding like you wouldn’t hesitate to use deadly force to kick him out, but I have to admit the tone is slightly pompous. “ Liam arched an eyebrow with a curious tilt of his head.

“It’s what Nathaniel will understand. He’s a pretentious worm who has ot
hers fight his battles for him. I’m hoping he’ll go running off with his slimy tail between his legs.”

“
I want to scare the crap out of him.“ Sasha was grinning again. I looked him over and shook my head. Sasha showing up at Nathaniel’s in his bloody clothes was a little bit too aggressive, so I sent him down to take a shower and dress professionally. In the meantime, I went to check on Sinc, who was resting in an upstairs bedroom.

She was freshly showered
, wearing Jackie’s robe and lying partially under the covers, while Jackie sat next to her on the bed, showered and dressed in jeans and a tee. Ethan stood in the corner looking grim. “How do you feel?” I asked.

“I have a killer headache, but other than that I’m gr
eat. Thanks.”

“Y
our actions saved a lot of lives tonight and we all thank you for what you did. You and Bridgett were extremely brave. I’ll never underestimate your ability to hold your own in a fight again.” I squeezed her hand and winked.

She was beaming.
“I really didn’t think about what I was doing, I just ran over to Ethan and you and tried to keep them away. “

“You were straddling Ethan.” Jackie laughed. “Garrett jus
t happened to be next to him.”

Sinc blushed and looked down at her hands. “Bridgett was waking you up, so I stayed out of her way.”

I smiled. “You'll spend the night here with us just to make sure you’re alright. Someone should stay with you. Jackie, maybe Bridgett…?”

“I’ll stay.” Ethan spoke for the first time. “I’ll
stay with her in case she needs anything.”

I watched Sinc unsuccessfully try to hide her smile. I turned to Ethan, “That’s fine. Take a shower and I’ll get you some clothes. You can use my bathroom.” He nodded and left, still looking serious.

Jackie walked over to me and snaked her arms around my waist. “How did your meeting go?”

“Sasha and Liam are all set. They’ll be leaving in half an hour and then should be back ten minutes later. I’m not anticipating any problems.
" I looked down at my bloody clothes and laughed. “I could use a shower myself. You might want to back off until I’m clean again.”

She sent to me, “
You were amazing, très puissant, très chaud.” 
I laughed again and hugged her. If my lovely mate thought I was very powerful and hot, who was I to argue with her?  “Are you ready to go tonight?”

She nodded. “I need to get it over with.”

“I’ll get Ethan some clothes and then get into the shower myself.”

Chapter Sixty-six

Bridgett:
11:30 PM Tuesday

I’d gotten cleaned up and dressed and was waiting for Will to finish. Sasha was in the corner of the room talking to Liam, looking kinda yummy in his Armani suit, with his blonde hair brushed back in thick waves and his blue eyes sparkling with exc
itement. Hey, just ‘cause I’m in love with Will doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a hot guy from afar. Although to me, Sasha was
only
hot from afar. Close up he was an annoying asshole.

Garrett showed up with Jackie and Ethan in time to wish them luc
k. They dissolved and returned eight minutes later, laughing and relaxed, and told us what happened.

“We materialized in his dining room. He was having a party with at least 30 guests: weres, a few shifters and humans, but mostly vampires. They were seated around this long table which was all decked out with gold forks and knives and huge centerpieces.
The vamps had these crystal goblets of blood in front of them, but there was fancy food out for the rest. Nathaniel was making some stupid toast when he saw us and shrieked.” Sasha started to laugh so hard he had trouble continuing, so Liam picked up where he’d left off.

“Yes, I would say ‘shrieked’ is the perfect word to describe the sound. I heard a few glasses break and a human woman fainted. Once Sasha introduced us, everyone listened attentively to Sasha’s message and then one of Nathaniel’s nest actually moved to attack us.” Liam sounded amused by the man’s stupidity. “He was a rather large ugly
brute who’d had some training with a blade, but was no match for us. He kept lunging and we kept side stepping, we didn’t need to draw our weapons at all.” We all laughed.

“I kicked him in the ass as he sailed by and then we left to the sound of Nathaniel cursing us.” Heinrich was particularly enjoying the tale, whacking Sasha on the back a little too hard judging from Sasha’s expression.

“Thank you, gentlemen, I believe that went very well. We’ll have to see what kind of a response we get; hopefully not another email. Sash, you and Rick are on security detail. Sinc's staying the night as is Ethan. Jackie, Liam and I are going to Faerie. You’ll be able to reach me on my cell if there’s an emergency. When Jackie and I get back in two days we’re going to want to move on the Los Altos situation, so have Sinc make sure the meeting is set up with their pack and all travel arrangements are made. Sinc's spending the night, but should be fine in the morning.”

Heinrich asked, “What’s going on in Faerie?”

Garrett looked at Jackie, not sure of what he should say, and I watched her try to decide whether or not to tell everyone the reason they were going . I hoped that she would, because after all, this was her team, and they’d all worked hard to find her and get her back safely.

“Liam is going to help me with the depression and the anxiety that I’ve been experiencing since I got back. It’s going to take a couple of days, as opposed to year
s of regular therapy. You know me, always impatient to get things over with,“ she shrugged. “I should be back in a couple of days acting like my old self again.” She’d kept her tone positive, but we knew she was nervous. Who wouldn't be?

Garrett looked around the room and smiled. “I’m proud of you and the w
ork you’ve all done. Now that Rogues, Inc. is in full swing, I think we can manage some paid vacation time soon. Let’s just figure out who’s taking those kids in Los Altos. “Oh, and Aaron’s crew will be working on the house tomorrow." He wrapped his arm around Jackie and gestured to Liam. In a poof, they disappeared, leaving behind a mix of fae magic, sweet vampire and cheetah.

I hoped that Jackie’d be able to get through the next two days without too much pain and that Liam would be able to help her. William
walked up behind me and snaked an arm around my waist, moving my hair aside to nuzzle my neck. “She’ll be fine.. Try not to worry too much.” He nipped at my ear playfully and I smiled and turned toward him. The witch’s blood was definitely having an effect. I took his hand and led him upstairs to my room, to work off some of that extra energy.

Chapter Sixty-seven

Jackie
:1:00 AM Tuesday

I was clutching Garrett’s hand so tightly, I thought I might break a few bones, but he wasn’t complaining.
He never complained. I wondered how many decades it would take before the honeymoon was over. I was kinda hoping for centuries. The room was large, and because we were in Faerie, Garrett would be able to spend all of his time there, not having to hide from the rays of the sun. Knowing he'd be there made me feel a whole lot better.

Liam was explaining a few things before we began.
“You’ll be asleep in this bed and I’ll be asleep in the adjacent one. We’ll hold hands and they'll be tied with a spelled vine so they stay bound together. I’ll connect to your mind and your first memory of waking up in the room and then I’ll signal my father to put us out at the same time. We’ll wander through each hour as if it were happening for the first time, but when you sleep and aren’t dreaming, I’ll be able to speed past those hours and send you positive energy to help you shake off the emotional trauma.”

I loo
ked at Garrett, then back at Liam. “You’ll see my dreams?” He nodded. “There was one dream that Isaiah gave us together it was—intense. We drank each other’s blood and we…” I must have been blushing, because Liam and Garrett both laughed. Vampires and the fae aren't really shy about sex, but I didn't feel comfortable with Liam seeing us.

“We can skip that dream if you like, or I can pull away and you can enjoy it again. Tell me what you’d rather do. I’m not a voyeur. The results will remain the same. When you wake up, you’ll remember it as if you’d just dreamt it.”

“I think we should just skip it if that’s okay. I have him for real again.” Liam smiled and nodded as Garrett kissed my forehead.

Kellaine
had given me a lovely nightgown to sleep in, since it was important that nothing was inhibiting my breathing in any way. Let’s face it, underwire bras and tight jeans didn’t make for comfortable sleepwear. Liam was dressed only in loose fitting drawstring pants, his chest bare and his long hair hanging loose.

I asked, “Will I be thrashing around while I’m remembering everything?”

“No, your body will be experiencing no pain or discomfort and so will be in a perfectly relaxed state.”

“If I connect to her mind, will I be able to see what’s going on?” Garrett had wrapped an arm around me to keep me from trembling.

Liam frowned slightly. “I don’t think you should connect to her, because you’ll get angry and you’ll—react. Your anger and frustration will communicate itself to her. I can’t have you interrupting. If you do, we’ll have to backtrack and that will make it more difficult for her. She’s still not back up to her normal strength, physically. I know you want to help, but if you can just lay with her and hold her, I’m sure that will calm her.”

“
I can keep my cool as well as you.” Garrett didn’t want to be left out and truly felt he would help me by being there. But what Liam had said made a lot of sense.

“Of course I can’t stop you, if that’s your choice.” The look Liam gave him reminded me of the look he’d given me two months ago when I thought it was no big deal to go off into the woods with the rest of the team and not tell Garrett or Rob.

I sent
, “Maybe we should remember that a 1500 year old fae might know what he’s talking about.”
Garrett laughed, recalling the evening he'd said those same words to me.

“
I’ll stay out of her mind. Can I at least give her some of the witch blood?”

Liam smiled. “I was going to suggest it. We’ll give you some privacy. My father will be here in ten minutes. He reached a hand out to Kellaine who took it, smiling, and they left.

Garrett scooted up against the headboard and pulled me into his lap. He kissed my head and then bit into his wrist, holding it to my mouth so I could drink the mixture of powerful blood without wasting any. He whispered, “Liam and Caelen will make this work for you, my darling. I’ll be here holding you, even when I’m resting I’ll be here. Je t’aime, mon ange.”

I pulled away from his wrist and turned to face him, twining my hands in his hair and urgin
g him down to kiss me. It took only about a second before he was pressed against my mouth and kissing me with passion. I moved away and laughed. “Hold that thought.”

He smiled. “You will always be my one
great love. The poets and novelists and song writers can only scrape the surface of what you mean to me.”

I sighed with contentment,
leaning my head against his chest, and we spent the next few minutes speaking quietly about taking a short vacation soon. Perhaps when the Los Altos assignment was over.

When Lord Caelen appeared with Liam in the doorway,
I started to tremble again.

Chapter Sixty-eight

Garrett: 5:00 AM Wednesday

Lord Caelen says that it’s going well, and I have to believe him as I have no other choice.  He’s able to connect to Liam who’s been able to speed through quite a few hours when Jackie had slept making the time she’ll be under a little shorter. She’s getting used to Liam’s presence, so it should help her with the more difficult times coming up.

Fae have been stopping by to offer support, some leaving small gifts for Jackie and also for Liam, who is well loved in Faerie. The other three Elders all came by, and Lady Dinestri spoke to me for a few minutes about Bridg
ett moving to Faerie. She said that since Jackie and Bridgett hadn't had much time together, she'd give Bridgett an extra week before she had to start her work. I asked her about William visiting Bridgett once in awhile and she said that as long as Jackie and I vouched for him and he stayed in her rooms, it would be fine. She seemed excited to have Bridgett assigned to her. I gave that feeling about a week, then shook my head and felt guilty. She’d grown up a lot recently, the wolf battle being a perfect example.  Let’s hope the growth spurt continued.

Brina and her sister Kaera, Farrell, Philladre, and all of the survivors of the kidnapping by Bridgett’s father came by to talk to me and wish Jackie and Liam well. Aedus was gone for the day but would be back and would visit tonight. I’m constantly amazed by the generosity of this magical race, having seen many times
, firsthand the results of their wrath. Witnessing Caelen, Liam and Aedus torturing their enemies would have turned the stomach even of Eleanor, who'd grown more powerful from the pain and misery of others, becoming a master in the art of inflicting agony.