Henchgirl (Dakota Kekoa Book 1) (35 page)

I turned on him in the hall. “Screw your contract!”

His eyelids narrowed and he leaned in. “Your fridge is empty, your family’s accounts were overdrawn, credit-cards over the limit and the Mabi-electric company just sent you a twenty-four hour notice.”

He had already invaded my privacy in every way, but this one felt so much worse than the others, so much more personal.

“I was handling it!” I yelled.

“How? By going hungry, so you could bring a couple boxes of partially eaten food to your family? Is that how you
handle things
?”

“At least I earned that food; I was shot at for that food.”

He leaned in so far he was looming over me. “You’re really so proud that you’re going to let your sisters survive off other people’s leftovers when I
want
to give your family money.”

I went very cold inside at his words.

He did not realize that he had just bought and paid for the one part of me that I worked so hard to make sure was not for sale with money that would just vanish. The money Wyvern gave my mother would not pay for any food other than a party’s catering bill. However, I would rather starve than tell him the truth and receive any more of his pity.

After a second, I said. “I’m still going to look for Honua, but if I find her, consider the payment made in full. This game you’re playing with me and my life is over. I don’t want anything more to do with you.”

He did not move away, continuing to stand too close, looking down at me. “If you have a complaint about our contract, you can email it to my steward. If he finds it worth my attention, he’ll forward it to me and I’ll consider it.”

“You. Are. A. Jerk,” I gritted out.

“Probably,” he said, “but I’m your jerk and it’s going to stay that way.”

I turned away because there were tears in my eyes that refused to be blinked away and I would rather almost anything in that moment than for him to see me cry. I walked up the stairs that led to my sisters’ and my bedrooms. Clara waited at the top of the stairs, like she always did when mom and I were fighting.

“I’m so sorry, Dakota,” she whispered.

“There’s some leftover food in the car,” I said and then I started sobbing.

Clara wrapped me in her arms. She petted my hair, whispering, “It’s alright sweetheart, it’s alright.” Over my shoulder she said, “She needs some… space for now Mr. Manderson.”

“Can I trust you that your family will not sneak her out while I give her this ‘space’?”

“On my honor, I promise neither will she attempt to escape your protection nor will I aid her or any other in an attempt to that end, until the next time you see her and are within arm’s reach of her,” Clara said, formally.

“I’ll come up to check on you in an hour, Dakota,” he said.

I did not respond, just let Clara usher me to my room and lay me down on the bed.

My sobbing refused to let me go for a long time. I had never felt so humiliated in my life. I hated Wyvern for what he said, but I hated him more for what he had seen. Now I was a charity case for him, not just a charity case, but one to feel contemptuous pity for.

Without knowing how much he gave her, I already knew I could never afford to pay him back. That money would be sucked into the same black hole that sucks up all our money. My lot in life would forever be to sit at a table set with fine china and no food.

Clara’s hands continued to pet my hair and right before I fell asleep, I remembered, “Mele is still in the car.”

I don’t know how long I slept, but I woke hearing voices in my room. I felt strangely refreshed. As the voices continued talking, I kept my eyes closed, consciously keeping my breathing even.

“Okay, let’s go back two frames and get a screenshot of that dude’s face, I think he’s new,” it was Lorelei’s voice, “Okay zoom and, cheese.”

“Are you sure he’s not the same as this one?” Wyvern’s voice then a tapping sound.

“No, look at the eyebrows and this one is a little fatter,” she said. “Alright, I’m going to let it play.”

“Can I ask you something, Lorelei?” Wyvern said.

“You can ask,” her tone implied that it was doubtful whether she would answer.

“If I had given that money to Clara, would Dakota have reacted the same way?” he asked.

“You mean would Dakota have had a total mental breakdown…?” she said, obviously my freak-out had been big news around the household.

“More an emotional one,” he said.

“That’s not really the right question to ask,” Lorelei said, “If you gave it to Clara, the money would have still just ended up with my mom. But I know what you mean.”

When she did not elaborate, he asked, “What’s the right question?”

“The question you want to ask me is: why did Dakota lose her shit, when you gave our mother money?”

“Would you answer that one?” he asked.

“Sure,” Lorelei said, sounding a little distracted, “The answer is: pay attention, it’s obvious. The whole family knows what’s going on, but everyone pretends that they don’t so they don’t have to do anything about it. Deagan is an asshat, Clara is weak, Stacy is too young and everyone thinks I’m useless which amounts to the same thing.”

“But not Dakota?”

“Dakota is very useful, and everyone uses her. My sisters and I use her, you’re using her, my mother worst of all but my grandfather is a close second. The sad thing, is only my mother is oblivious to it, the rest of us know.” She pauses, “Okay, this dude is leaving, I’m going to turn the video to double-speed, that cool?”

“She’s supporting all of you with the work she does for your grandfather?” Wyvern asked.

“If only it was just that,” Lorelei said, laughing derisively. “But you know what; I don’t think Dakota would thank me for telling you her business.”

After they sat in silence for a minute, Wyvern asked, “Why does your family think you’re useless?”

“I’m a dud. I did not inherit an aspect. Half of my aunts and uncles think my mom cheated on my dad and I’m just a human that, coincidentally, looks a lot like Dakota.”

“They’re wrong,” he said.

“Thanks, but really, how would you know?” she scoffs, “I don’t.”

“I can read you; it’s one of my aspects. I can’t read your aspect because you don’t have one yet; but you have more power than some of your aunts and uncles, a little more than Dakota even,” he said.

“You’re just saying that,” she said, but I could hear the smile in her voice. “So you’ve only really known Dakota for, what, a couple days, and you’re coming on pretty strong…do you actually like my sister or are you just screwing with her head because you’re rich and you can?”

“You two really are related,” he said, “Are you going to tell me that if I hurt her you’re going to kill me?”

“Not yet,” she said, “But you just told me I’m going to be some kind of bad-ass soon so… you know.”

“I’ll be careful. But I don’t think she likes me enough for me to hurt her anyhow,” he said.

“Wow, is there a hook in my mouth? I don’t think you could have fished anymore with that statement,” she said. “She might like you; it’s hard to tell with her. I remember a time when Dakota used to laugh so hard she would almost pee her pants, like she would have to run to the bathroom still laughing. I don’t think she even remembers being that person…I mean, she’s funny and she’ll laugh, but… I don’t know how to explain it.”

“That if I take her out and she pees her pants then I will know she likes me,” he said.

“No, I mean… she used to be so happy; I don’t think she knows how to actually be happy anymore, because she’s faking happiness all the time. She pretends to be someone she’s not all day at school and everywhere else, hiding things from everyone just to protect other people. Also, Dakota basically spends all day stalking the man who killed our father…which is like taking daily misery pills.” She paused, “And there he is…”

“What?” Wyvern said, his voice almost a growl.

“Senator Hale,” she said, “I don’t know how she does this every day…”

“Senator Hale killed your father?” Wyvern voice was scary cold now.

“Wait—” Lorelei said, “I thought you must be helping her… I thought that’s what these surveillance tapes were about. Shit. But you’re obviously not. Look, please don’t repeat what I said. I’m not even supposed to know about her assignment.”

“
He
killed your father?” Wyvern asked yet again.

“Well, the official story was that a dragon broke into the office that my father shared with Senator Hale and killed both my father and Senator Hale’s daughter. But I know Dakota, if that was what actually happened that day, she would have spent all this time learning to hunt dragons.”

“She was there?” he asked as if he already knew the answer.

“Yes,” Lorelei said, “And, wow, you just have me going on and on. I’m going to stop now, if you want to know more you’re going to have to get it from Dakota. Look, it’s eleven and I haven’t even started my homework yet. I can probably watch Saturday and Sunday’s recordings after school tomorrow. I have all the clips with people in the office from Thursday and Friday copied and in this file here. Also, there are screen shots of all the peoples’ faces that came through and they’re labeled by the time-stamps of when they came on the screen.” She then made a long somewhat-fake-yawning sound. “Goodnight.”

“Thank you, Lorelei,” Wyvern said.

Once Lorelei was gone, I said, “I want it to be him. All the evidence points to that he’s involved, but…he was on Owabu until Sunday afternoon. I keep thinking I might be blaming Senator Hale in my head, because I want it to be him so badly, that he’s stealing girls.”

I opened my eyes as the bed sunk beside me.

Wyvern laid down, his body mirroring mine, his head propped up on his arm. “I also think Senator Hale had to have played a part in Honua’s disappearance. Honua broke into his office for a reason. Can I ask you a question about what you saw the day your father died?”

I swallowed. “Yes.”

“Who killed Senator Hale’s daughter?”

“Senator Hale did,” I said, “I’m pretty sure; she might have been already dead, but I think she was infected by the dragon who tried to take her. Her name was Lena.”

Wyvern’s thumb brushed across my cheek. “I can sleep on the floor,” he said, “If you still want nothing more to do with me.”

“I’m not sure, yet,” I said, closing my eyes.

“Alright, tell me when you decide,” he said.

“Where’s Mele?” I asked.

“Sleeping downstairs in the guest room,” he said.

“Okay,” I said.

“Okay,” he said.

Even though I knew better, when his fingers wound through mine, I did not pull away, I tucked his hand under my face.

“I just wanted to tell you, those six other contracts I had been in,” he said, “I did not choose any of them. They were worked out between my family and their families in the couple months before I turned eighteen and inherited the Rex title from my half-brother. It was his last maneuver to have some control over me, trying to force me to marry a dracon whose family owed him in a big way. The girl who I stayed with for weeks was a friend who agreed to pretend that we were considering marriage so that I could get a break from having a new contract every week. When I was crowned Rex, I told my half-brother that I was done.”

For some reason this explanation made me way happier than it should have. I was not really sure how to respond to what he said, without making it sound like it meant something to me, so I stayed silent.

“You care,” he said.

“No, I don’t,” I whispered.

“Then stop smiling,” he said.

“I’m not.” I so was, dang it.

I woke wrapped in Wyvern’s arms. I did not know if I had moved or he had, but I was tucked into him and he was wrapped around me. Our bare skin was touching in too many places to count, arms touching, ankles, his cheek on mine, and my body felt like a live wire of tingles.

I stayed there, trying not to move and wake him. I thought about what Lorelei had said to him. Lorelei was always way too smart and observant for anyone’s good. Sure, she was rude and annoying most of the time, but underneath all of it she cared more than anyone. I did not know that she had heard the rumors my jerk uncles and aunts were spreading about her; she had never said anything to me.

Maybe Lorelei was right, maybe I did not know how to be happy anymore. Yet what I felt right now, wrapped in Wyvern’s arms, felt dangerously close to what I imagined happiness felt like.

I knew it would not last. I knew that the way Wyvern was acting could be a result of my sharing a piece of my soul with him. Yet, I closed my eyes and let myself just feel that possibly-happiness feeling until I fell back to sleep.

Chapter Twenty One

The next time I woke, it was to the smell of bacon, eggs and syrup. My mouth immediately filled with saliva and my stomach gave a vicious reminder that all I had eaten since yesterday morning was chips and salsa.

Opening my eyes, I found a tray with three plates of food and something that suspiciously looked like coffee.

“Am I dead?” I asked with a hoarse voice while I still laid there.

“We need to talk,” Wyvern said. “Eat so you’ll be in a good mood.”

“Uh-oh,” I said, sitting up. “I know for a fact that we did not have bacon in our fridge…or anything but condiments.”

He sat beside the bed in my desk chair, his elbows on his knees and staring at me with an expression that, if it wasn’t Wyvern, I would call unsure. “I had already hired a cook for the house I bought, I just asked him to bring some food over and work here while I am staying at your place. It’s the least I can do for the hospitality your family has shown me.”

Feeling emotional yet again, I took a bite and focused on chewing. I was such a basket-case lately, crying more than not.

Wyvern must have interpreted my lack of response as my being unhappy because he continued. “I really could not live with myself if I let a fourteen year old work for me when she doesn’t have food—and Lorelei reviewed those security tapes for seven hours last night—”

“No. Thank you,” I said, “Like really, thank you. If your pity for me gets my sister’s fed, then—”