Breaking the Storm (26 page)

“Are
you going somewhere?” Bones asked, looking at me coolly.

I
hopped from one foot to the other, putting on my shoes. “Look, I don't have time for this, Bones.” I stepped to the left. He followed. I stepped to the right. He smoothly blocked my path. “Out of my way. Now!”

He
crossed his beefy arms, looking down at me like I was a wayward child. “Nope. Knox left specific instructions to protect you. And that's what I intend to do. Now if you want to go somewhere, I'm more than happy to be your chauffeur for the day.”

I
jammed my hands on my hips, looking him up and down. “Excuse me? Who the hell made the wolf-shifter brigade my jail warden?” I shoved at him, which was like pushing against a brick wall. I got nowhere.

“Are
you done?” he asked calmly.

I
tried to skirt past him, but he smoothly stepped in my path. This wasn't working and I was wasting precious time. “Okay, look, I'm a big girl and more than capable of taking care of myself. At twenty-four, I think I have it covered.” I patted his arm. “Now if you would just step aside, we can stop all this craziness and you can go back to doing whatever you wolf-shifters do. Okay?”

“As
precious as that plea was…” He smirked. “You do understand what no means, right?”

My
fists clenched. “Damn it! What gives Knox the right to assign a protector?”

He
leaned in, sniffing the air loudly. “His scent’s all over you… and inside you.”

I
cringed with embarrassment. “Don't be so fucking crude.” I should’ve showered. Knox's scent told the Others I was claimed and that he was my protector. I continued with more bravado than I felt. “He's human. Not a wolf-shifter. So what happens between us is personal. Now get a clue and step out of my way.”

“No!
You’re the one that needs to get a fucking clue.” His eyes narrowed. “He's family and therefore pack.” He tilted his head sharply. “So that automatically makes you pack. So, like it or not, Fae-witch, you are now under our protection.” His eyes glowed with a fierceness that not even I wanted to mess with. Wolf-shifters were notoriously pack-driven and I understood his loyalty and respected his role within the pack as an enforcer. But I had to protect my mate from a raving lunatic, and absolutely no one was going to stop me from doing just that.

I
arched a brow. “I need coffee. Believe me, you don't want to stop me from getting a cup. I can get darn right evil without it.”

“More
evil than you are right now?” he asked before stepping aside. “Go ahead.” He gestured for me to go but was practically glued to my side as I strolled into the kitchen with forced nonchalance. I pressed the button on the espresso machine, placing a cup beneath to capture the wonderful stream of black liquid gold. My face was neutral, but my mind was racing and frantically plotting a way out of this mess when my cell buzzed.

“Hey
, Light. What's up, girl?” I lifted the cup of coffee to my lips, taking a small sip and savoring a much-needed awakening.

“Uh
… everything. Detective Prick called. He wants to meet with us.”

My
back straightened. “Why?”

“Information
linking Credence O. to Celina’s death was found on the dead reporter’s laptop.”

I
banged my hand on the countertop. “Damn it to hell,” I responded. “Did you call Reason?”

“No,
I'm standing here with my thumb up my ass.” She snorted. “Of course I called her. We're meeting Detective Burrows over at her office. I need you back now! You know me. I'll crack under pressure if you're not there,” Light wailed hysterically.

Shit!
She was already cracking. Unfortunately, she was going to have to step up to the plate and take one for the Credence team. “Uh-huh.” I pursed my lips, shooting a discreet glance at Bones. “I can't right now. Take the meeting without me.”

Light
sputtered with outrage. “Okay, did you just hear what I said? He wants to talk to both of us? I'm not playing, Storm. Get your ass over here. The last time I was around Detective Prick, I picked up some weird vibes. His emotional compass is not stable.”

Damn,
that’s the last thing Light needed, to be intoxicated by an emotionally unstable human. But this was a life and death situation. “Yep. Got it. It's still a no-go.”

“What
the hell is wrong with you, Storm? No-go?”

Tapping
my fingers on the counter, I gave her a minute to get my silent message.

“Oh
, wait, someone's standing there?” Light asked.

Finally,
she got it. “Uh-huh.”

“Text.
Pronto.” Light hung up.

Bones
looked at me suspiciously as I took another sip of coffee, shrugging with a smile.

“Business
problems?” he asked.

Damn
that sharp wolf-shifter hearing. “Yep. Let me text my lawyer,” I tapped out a text message to Light.
Call Bones ASAP. I need a distraction. Will explain later.
I took another sip of coffee, leaning my hip on the edge of the granite counter.

His
cell buzzed a few seconds later. He looked at it, then at me before answering. “Hey, Light. Funny that you called…”—his eyebrows furrowed—“at this precise moment.”

I
turned my back on him. Shit, he was on to me. I needed another plan. I heard the elevator ding. I swung around expecting to see Knox. The door slid open, revealing an impeccably dressed Rosa looking like she just stepped out of a board meeting, teetering on the hottest stilettos I've ever seen.

I
smiled widely. “Hi, Rosa.” Putting my cup on the counter, I casually strolled toward her with a smile that a beauty contestant would envy.

Rosa's
eyes widened as she sniffed the air. “Mated. Wonderful.” She reached out to hug me. I swerved out of her way, slipping smoothly into the elevator. Then everything collided into one chaotic mess. Bones threw his cell and sprinted toward the elevator. His big body slammed into Rosa. Rosa stumbled forward on her high heels, screeching at Bones in Italian. But the more he tried to maneuver around her, the louder she swore. The last thing I saw before the doors slid closed was Bones’s angry, red face as he tried to move Rosa out of the way and Rosa jabbing him fearlessly in the chest.

“Sorry
, Rosa and Bones,” I whispered, feeling like crap for ditching them. But Bones left me no choice. I couldn't just sit on my hands, waiting for fate to take what I waited forever for—love. They would forgive me later when I explained. The elevator rode down to the lobby. Wasting no time when the doors slid open, I ran through the hallway. Pushing open the front door, I hurried onto the sidewalk, blending in with the harried pedestrians. There would be no way Bones could catch my scent mixed among all of the Manhattan smells.

I
sighed heavily when my cell buzzed. “Hello, Knox.” My voice was breathy.

“What
the hell are you doing, Storm?” he growled. “I swear, if you're running away from me…”

I
skirted past a hot dog cart. “I'm not running away from you. I'm done running,” I whispered with vehemence. “I love you. I'm staying with you. And I damn well plan on giving you those damn babies you want.” I weaved in and out of a group of tourists taking photos while standing in the middle of the sidewalk, adding to the damn pedestrian congestion.

“Then
why would you leave the protection of Bones?” The tension in his voice eased—a little.

“Because
I have business to take care of,” I snapped, annoyed with all of his questions.

“What
kind of business is that, Storm?”

I
looked around wildly before sprinting across the street. “I can't say right now. But I promise I'll tell you everything when I'm done.” I ducked into a busy café, sitting down on one of the stools facing the street, waiting to see if Bones was following me. Hoping that if he was, his highly trained senses would go into hyper-drive from the mixture of varied city scents. In essence, a wolf-shifter's worst nightmare.

He
growled. “Damn it, Storm! Get your ass back to the penthouse. It's not safe for you to be alone. There's a war brewing between Ryker and his business rivals.”

I
pursed my lips. “Which has absolutely nothing to do with me. I'm fine. Believe me.”

“No,
you're not fine. They know Ryker and I are close. And by now, they know you're my girlfriend. What if they kidnap you?”

“Relax
, Knox. That's not going to happen.” I waved the waiter over, pointing silently to the chai soy latte menu item.

“I
need to protect you, baby.” His voice was husky with emotions. The fierce strain pulled at my heartstrings. I was stressing him out.

“
What about if I need to protect you?” My voice cracked.

“What?”
he asked sharply.

“Would
you let me?” I was fighting all of the emotions tightening my chest. “I just need to make sure I do everything in my power to ensure I take care of an issue.” I didn't realize that I was even crying until I tasted the salty teardrops on my upper lip. Dammit, this mating thing was turning me into an emotional wreck. “Please, Knox. Just give me a chance to do this,” I croaked.

“Shit!
Storm? Are you crying, baby?” His voice broke, alarming the hell out of me. He paused. “Come back home, okay? We'll talk this out. Then you can do whatever you think you have to.” His forced casual tone set off warning bells.

If
I came back right now, I wouldn't be able to scratch my ass without an entourage of enforcers watching me do it. “Lies. You won't. See you later, Knox.” I hung up. He called back twice. I refused to answer. I slumped against the stool, exhausted from the emotional toll. Taking a deep breath, I smiled shakily when the waiter smoothly placed the chai latte within my fingertips. I sipped it nervously while scrolling through my recent calls list, dialing Luke's number.

“What
a pleasant surprise. Change of heart, sweetheart?” Luke asked with a sharp tone.

This
is where I had to stay strong and draw the line. I refused to let him play mind games with me. “We need to talk,” I responded sharply.

“We
are talking.”

“In
person, Luke.”

He
laughed loudly. “Finally, we're getting somewhere. Come to my place and we'll talk.”

There
was no way in hell. “No! I'm in a café. Meet me here.”

“My
place or nothing,” he said.

I
paused, trying to work out the scenarios, and all roads led to imminent danger.

“Bye
, Storm.” His voice was hard.

“Okay
, wait.” I sighed heavily. This was a really bad move, but I was desperate. And there was no way I could live my life looking over my shoulder, waiting for him to come out of the shadows to kill Knox. I refused to let him hurt Knox or anyone else. This crazy legacy of killing had to end. Solista failed to stop it. And where she failed, I would succeed—I had to. The Credence bloodline depended on it.

“Where
do you live?” My eyes darted around nervously as I listened, committing his address to memory. “I'll be there in thirty minutes.” I finished my latte, leaving money before slipping out of the café and down the block to hail a yellow taxi. Looking around with paranoid eyes, I slipped in, numb, as I gave the driver my address. As we drove through the busy city streets, I concocted my plan. It was simple. Meet Luke. Try to reason with the certified mad man. If that didn't work—I would kill him. Not my preferred choice, but if I had to… I wasn't afraid to do it.

The
taxi pulled up to my house. I jumped out quickly and raced in. It was quiet. Good, Light had already gone to Reason's office. Kicking off my shoes, I pulled on my sneakers before running into the office, opening the safe, taking the gun out, and slipping it in the pocket of my leather jacket.

I
slipped out to the garage and into my car. Common sense told me there was so much that was wrong with my plan. It was dangerous and reckless. No one would know where I went, which was a positive and a negative. Positive if I had to kill him. Negative if he went ballistic and killed me. Pulling out of the garage smoothly, I zipped into the Manhattan traffic. All the while kicking myself for this reckless decision—I’ve seen enough news stories where people went missing without a trace, and yet I was making this rookie mistake. Desperation can make you do the stupidest things.

I
rolled back the convertible top, letting the cool breeze soothe my frayed nerves. I was tempted to keep on driving when I pulled up to the front of Luke's luxurious brownstone. But I parked and sat there, hesitating to leave the safety of my vehicle. Leaning my head back, I gathered all my strength. This was fucking stupid. I knew better than this. I was about to turn on the car and leave when Luke’s voice jolted me straight up in my seat.