From This Day Forward (11 page)

A deadly quiet
, driven by the intense fury swirling through her, gripped her as she stared down David—the leader of the North American Dragon Consortium, the man who had officiated at their wedding, and her husband’s best friend.

She motioned him in with an outstretched palm. Again, not trusting herself not to let the anger directed at Noah boil over and blister David, she said nothing, but she
turned around to glare at Noah, hands braced on her hips. “Do you want to tell him that you destroyed the sanctity of your marriage vows with this terrorist? This fox-tattooed-woman-dragon-monster-two-faced-Morgana-LeFay-bitch? Or should I?”

Noah opened his mouth. Then shut it. Arms crossed, he leaned against the granite countertop, his ankles crossed. The infuriating man was the picture of calm
calculation. Bastard.

“
I think you just told him.” Noah’s quiet voice rumbled in warning.

She didn’t care. Let him untangle this mess alone.

April stomped past Noah, not waiting for more explanations. More excuses.

He’d deal with the fallout from the
consortium leader, not her. She hadn’t done this—she hadn’t broken the sacred mage vow. He did. He could fix it. Or not. He’d try. However, she had serious doubts it could ever be fixed or that she’d ever fully trust Noah Easton again.

“
You did what?” David’s voice rose in anger as he addressed Noah.

April
grabbed her coat, shoved her feet into her boots, and headed out the front door. She was going to get the girls and talk to Yana. God damned men. Let them work it out.

She was done with them
all.

Done.

Chapter Nine: The Vow - Broken Ties

“What kind of bone-headed move was that?” David growled. “You slept with her?” David advanced on Noah, his voice held a deadly menace that seemed out of proportion to the crime.

Noah lifted his hands in defense.
“No, I never slept with her. I swear. April’s got it wrong.” Noah rubbed the back of his neck, pacing away, then turning back. “Hell, I don’t know what she thought she saw, but if she saw any part of the torture scene in the cave in Hajar, I’m sure it looked really bad. I was stripped naked, chained. The Fox came on to me.”

A rumble sounded from deep in the other man’s throat
—a dragon roar gathering, which, if unleashed, could cause a catastrophic blast.

“
Calm down, man. I did nothing wrong.”

“
I’ll be the judge of that.” David stepped into Noah’s path, stopping him in his tracks. “You’d better tell me what happened.”

Noah stared at David, trying to
understand his over-blown reaction to this situation. In all the years he’d known David, his friend had always been calm, calculated, measured in his responses to whatever came his way. Not this time. “What’s going on, dude? Why are you so hot about this?” He narrowed his eyes. “You know her. That’s it, isn’t it? Somehow, you know who this woman is . . . this isn’t the first time you’ve had contact with her.”

David’s breath hissed, like a
deflating balloon. “Yes, I might know her. But I can’t be sure. Tell me what happened.”

Noah took a few minutes detailing his encounters with The Fox within the last week
—first his capture and then the torture and finally the battle. Just the plain facts. No emotion. No supposition. No gratuitous embellishment.

“
You never saw her before she captured you?”

“
Never saw it coming. Never even noticed her. I would have noticed her. It’s my job.”

David
’s eyes glittered and his mouth drew tight again with anger. “I do not want to hear how much you were attracted to her.”

Noah lifted his shoulders
and raised his palms face up. “Not a problem, man, because I wasn’t. I love my wife. It was a job. A mission gone wrong. Straightforward. Plain and simple. I needed information. It’s the only reason I agreed to contact.”

“
You might have convinced yourself of that bullshit, but damn it, Noah. Humans don’t work that way. Hell, and dragons certainly don’t buy your logic either. Call me crazy, but from where I’m standing you’re clearly in the wrong here and you need to prove to your wife that you love her.”

Now Noah’s anger started to burn, low and hot in his belly.
“What do you know about love? You’ve never even shown an ounce of emotion toward a mate in the whole time I’ve known you.” Noah settled back against the kitchen island, arms tight as he glared at his old friend. “So who the hell are you to tell me how to handle my wife?”

David’s face was stone. Noah knew the look. Knew the mask.
He hid his emotions behind ice, David concealed his behind stone. The result produced the same effect—it walled you off from all the messy feelings that came from dealing with others—dragon or human. “You’re wrong.” The words came out so soft Noah almost didn’t hear them.

He paused.
“What did you say?”

“
You’re wrong. I’ve been in love.” His voice grew stronger now and he mirrored Noah’s defensive stance, arms braced in front of him. “But, honestly, that’s not the real point here. It doesn’t matter if I have experience with love or not, I am the North American Dragon Consortium leader. Period.” He looked down his nose at Noah.

“
Don’t pull Alpha bullshit on me. I’ve known you too long. You may lead the consortium, but I follow you because I respect you. You’re my friend. Don’t make me your enemy.”

David stared him down.
Anger rolled off of him, the only tell? A tic in his clenched jaw. “Don’t make me yours.”

“
Fair enough.” Noah didn’t want David as an enemy. He cared too much about him. They’d shared too much to give it up over a grand-standing move. Noah knew how to take orders. He stared at the floor a moment, giving the right submissive signals to the equivalent of his magickal CO. “Where do we go from here? I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”

“
First we need to confirm her identity. I need to be sure this is who I think it is, before we find her.”

“
Why didn’t you tell me you knew her?”

David studied him, but didn’t say anything for a long second or two.
“I’m not even sure it’s her yet.” He jammed his fingers through his usually perfect hair. “Describe her to me. Did she have any identifying marks?”

“
She’s about five feet, four inches tall. Dark hair that’s jet black. Straight. To the middle of her back. Petite, but strong. Pale eyes. Mix of blue and green.” He hesitated. Noah knew better from David’s earlier reaction than to describe her as curvy or beautiful. “Wears leather. Oh, and she’s got ink on her wrist. Celtic. Foxes.”

“
It might be her.”

“
Might? After that description you say
might
?”

“
It’s complicated, Noah. I’ll let you know as soon as I confirm her identity. But in the meantime, you need to do whatever it takes to smooth things over with your wife. Only you know what will work. She’s your greatest asset and your biggest liability. It’s your primary job to protect April and the girls. But we can solicit help, too. You need to go talk to Grayson Cooper at Derkesthai Academy. Pick up your girls and let him know of the threat. He knows of the hoard thief. I’m going to follow a few leads in town.”

“
If you’d told me all this a week ago, we might have found her by now.”

David huffed another anguished sigh.
“I know. But she could be extremely dangerous, Noah. And this is my job. If she is the hoard thief, I will catch her. She’s my responsibility.”

Noah didn’t understand the heat behind his fierce words
, but he’d let it go for now. His friend would unload when he was ready. “No, it’s any mage’s responsibility to stop her.”

“
Not this time. This is special. No one brings her in but me. Understand? She’s mine.”

Noah
heard the heated conviction and threat behind those words. Shit. David had something big invested here. Noah wasn’t sure he wanted to know how deep this went for David.

Not good. Not good at all.

Chapter Ten: The Other Woman

By the time Yana had dropped the girls off at the tea shop, April had showered and felt almost human again. Even though her level of pissed hadn’t subsided at all, she tried to put on a calm, happy face.

“
Mama!” her youngest squealed.

“
Hey, baby girl.” April hugged her hard to her chest. The other two girls fell on her, arms draped around her waist and shoulders. God she loved these girls. Everything else was falling apart in her life, but this she’d done right. “Why don’t you go take your backpacks upstairs. When you come back I’ll have tea and a piece of that scrumptious chocolate cake for you to celebrate.”

“
Celebrate what?” They all chimed in unison, excited and dancing around.

She sucked in a deep breath.
“Your daddy’s home.”

Yana raised her eyebrow as she studied April.

The girls hooped and hollered, jumping up, squealing in glee, and hugging each other. “Where is he? When can we see him? Is he here?” They each asked a different question, but the message clear—their dad was way more important than the coveted chocolate dessert. They’d missed him.

April’s heart sank. She didn’t know how she was going to do this. She couldn’t break their hearts. They worshipped Noah. She wanted to walk away. She didn’t want a man who wasn’t faithful to her, but she also didn’t want her girls to live that fractured life so many kids knew today.

“Shoo. Run upstairs. Remember to wash your hands before you come back down.” Yana herded them toward the stairs. The girls charged the wooden staircase leading to the apartment above en mass, falling over each other and trailing their bags behind them. “Must be a doozy if you’re breaking your no sugar rule. And chocolate no less. Three- or four-alarm crisis?”

April peered over her shoulder to make sure the girls were out of earshot. She lowered her voice just in case.
“Off the charts. Ridiculous. You would not believe it even if I told you. I don’t want to discuss it now. The girls don’t need to hear.”

A dervish of c
latter and chatter on the stairs signaled the girls’ return. April busied herself with brewing the girls a pot of their favorite tea. She added a healthy dose of milk to three flowered tea cups, then sliced the triple layered chocolate cake onto matching dessert plates.

The chimes over the door sounded as April stood with her back to the door.
“Be with you in a moment,” she called over her shoulder.

She froze
when she turned with the hot pot of tea to see a certain petite brunette who stood front and center in her nightmares now standing in her tea shop.

April didn’t know how she’d done it, but this was the woman she’d seen with Noah in the cave.

The nerve of the bitch.

Really? She seduced April’s husband, then had
the audacity to step a foot into her shop? Bitch didn’t even begin to describe her. Everything within April tensed to breaking point.

White-hot
anger surged through her.

“
Mama?” Samantha tapped her on the forearm. “Can I set the cake on the table?”

April dragged her eyes from Morgana to her daughter.
“Yes, sweetie. Set the table. Caeden, get the silverware. Abigail, grab the napkins. Yana, could you serve the tea? I’ll take care of Ms. LeFay.”

She stepped behind the protective barrier of the counter
top so she wouldn’t be tempted to strangle the woman. “Morgana.” April tilted her chin to acknowledge the other woman with tightly reined fury.

“
It’s so good to see you,” Morgana said. She gushed. Her husky voice syrupy.

Seriously
? Did she think April didn’t know about her and Noah? She didn’t know how Morgana could have been in a cave in Hajar a week ago, but she came and went with regularity. And April knew Morgana was a powerful sorceress from her experience of her in her own shop across the street. Plus, a dark aura rolled off of her—some kind of magickal darkness—that prickled at April’s awareness. She had no idea what kind of gifts she really manifested. Magickals were notoriously closed mouthed these days. They had to be if they wanted to fit into a mundane world without drawing attention.

T
he girls and Yana had taken a table across the tea room near the window. Far enough away to not hear the specifics of a low conversation. “Wish I could say the same,” April muttered.

“
Excuse me?” Morgana looked a little startled.

April pursed her lips on the bitter recriminations that
leapt to her lips. “How can I help you?”

Her tone had taken on a steely edge she never used.

Yana’s head snapped around. She watched the two women with interest.

Abby
, the youngest, pushed away from the table and flew across the room in a flurry of swirling energy and creased cotton. “Morgana! You look so pretty.”

“
Thank you, sweetie. So do you. I love the pink cherries on your dress.” Morgan ran her hand over the girl’s curly mop of hair. She tugged playfully on one curl. “You’re looking bright-eyed and busy-tailed today.” She looked at the half-eaten chocolate cake still on the table. “A special day?”

“
Oh, yes. Yes, it is. Daddy is home. We’re so excited. We’re celebrating. He’s on his way now. Will you stay? Have some cake? You’d love him. He’s so much fun. He’s grrrreat.”

“
I’m sure he is—”

“
Abby, Ms. LeFay can’t stay. She’s got a shop to run. She has to get back to her work. Go finish your cake.” Abigail’s face fell. Her excitement dimmed. She worried the bright pink button on her dress. She hesitated a moment longer, as if not sure how to respond to April’s curt command. Yes, April’s tone was totally out of character and her daughter understood that on some level.

“
That’s okay, doll. I’m sure I’ll meet your daddy on another day. Today you enjoy him. There will be time later.”

Abby’s
face cleared. She smiled and waved at Morgana then she ran back to her chair as told.

“
My girls don’t need another parent,” April snapped at Morgana.

The other woman paused, wide-eyed, clearly not knowing how to respond.

“What can I get you?” April demanded.

“
Give me a large cup of your Dragon’s Heart.”

It was a special
blend of Pai Mu Tan white tea, citrus mint, and sage laced with wild orange that April created and branded. A popular seller both in town and on her website. She sold it almost as fast as she could package it.

“
I’m sure you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Don’t count on getting my dragon’s heart or his hoard. It’s mine.” April couldn’t help how the comment came out a growl. “To go?” She didn’t wait for an answer but grabbed a paper to-go cup and brewed a fresh pot with the fragrant leaves and hot water.

“
I love Dragon’s Heart.” Morgana studied April, her forehead creased as she chewed on her bottom lip. She didn’t say anything else as she watched April ring up her purchase. April shoved the cup at her so hard the drink sloshed through the small sipping hole on the safety lid and splashed on her hand. She sucked in a pained breath. “Did I do something wrong?”

“
Only you’d know.” April slammed the register till drawer shut. “Stay away from my husband.”

Morgana paused, napkin
clutched in her left hand, halfway between the counter dispenser and the tea spattered skin of her right, still holding her cup. “Pardon?”

“
My husband.” April ground out between clenched teeth. “Noah. Stay away from him. I see you anywhere near him and I promise you you’ll live to regret it.”

Morgana lifted one hand and backed away slowly.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t even know your husband. I’ve never met him.”

She pointed to the ink clearly visible on Morgana’s wrist
as she held her cup. “Yeah, and that’s why you and your tattooed ass have been all over him. I know your game. Fox. Dragon. Witch. Bitch. It doesn’t matter to me what you call yourself. I know what I saw. You. Kissing my husband.” Anger made her whispered voice a harsh hiss. “I don’t know how, but it was you.” She slammed the fifty cents change to the counter. “Stay away from my husband. And stay away from my family.”

Morgana’s eyes opened wide and she paled
.

April had to hand it to her. She was a great actress.

The woman
grabbed her purse off the counter and fled through the front door, leaving her change behind.

April watched her go.

At least she’d gotten the message.

Loud and clear.

She joined Yana and the girls at the table. When she met her grandmother’s eyes over her daughter’s heads she understood that apparently Yana had gotten the message, too.

Maybe she wasn’t so good a subtle threats.

But damned if she’d let the woman hurt her family a second time.