Nine Lives of an Urban Panther (16 page)

She stopped in the doorway and shivered. “Violet Jordan?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

She looked around the coffee shop and then saw the protection symbol above the door. “You're working some heavy mojo here.”

“I needed to make sure that we were safe.”

“Meaning you and me, or you and your pack?”

“Any Wanderer who wandered in.”

She pressed her lips together and looked up at the symbol, then back at me. There was a quizzical look on her face and she took in a deep breath before walking across the espresso-soaked floor.

I rose to greet her. I'd left my charm at home. I wasn't going to need it for the full moon, so I hadn't packed it. Which left me woefully unprepared for the sheer heat of her. I felt her when she was within three feet of me. When Nash had warned me that she was the embodiment of fire, I didn't think that she was actually as hot as fire.

She stuck out her hand. “Inez.”

“Violet Jordan.” As I slid my hand against hers, my power went out around her. I'd brushed everyone in the past six weeks, so it was a natural reaction for me.

But she was the first one who'd burned me back.

The dry air brushed my cheeks and in its wake came the sizzle. It was like the slow burn after a pepper spray and it stayed on my cheek and arm long after she'd released my hand.

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Akasha.”

The woman winced. “Please don't call me that. I hate all the formal stuff.”

“Then, please call me Violet.” I gestured that we should sit.

Inez did, but she still looked around the shop. “What's up with this place?”

“I came here often enough, before and after the shift, that I somehow created a haven for all Wanderers.”

“How?”

I was honest. “I have no idea, but people tend to end up here when they are lost.”

Inez tugged on the cuff of her scarlet leather jacket. She crossed her legs at the ankle and tried to rest her hands in her lap.

She was nervous. I was making someone else nervous. “Which means that it's a safe place for your people too.”

“What about vampires?”

“I suppose that if a vampire was in trouble, they might gravitate toward this place, but I'm not really eager to find that out.”

“Delmont said you tangled with them.”

“I did.”

“Said their leader ended up dead.”

“He did.”

Inez adjusted in her seat and as she looked at the window where I'd spent most of my time in the past two years, I saw a slick scar just at the collar of her jacket. It wasn't the pretty vampire bites you see in the movies, but a half circle of violent edges. The story of it jumped into my brain before I could even blink.

She'd been attacked by vampires. What good vampire wouldn't want a victim that would keep them running at human temperatures for a while? That's why the mention of me consorting with vampires had her as nervous as me.

Maybe Delmont was wrong about this approach. Or maybe he knew the story and what kind of effect it would have on this woman. It did seem like his M.O.

“I didn't kill him,” I finally said.

Inez's gaze jumped back to me. “What?”

“He was dead when we got there. But his Clade did come and we did fight.”

Inez swallowed. “Are you going to let them stay?”

I shook my head. “I don't know.”

She looked at me with wide eyes.

“I know that you have your own pack and probably have just as many concerns as I do about how we are all going to deal with each other..”

“Kiln. A group of elementals is called a Kiln.”

I nodded. “Okay. I know that you guys are probably going through the same growing pains we are, and frankly, I don't think we need to worry about more cooks in the kitchen.”

Inez studied me for a moment. “He said that you were different.”

“Who?”

“Tai-Jen, the wind elemental.”

I was shocked. It hadn't occurred to me before that my own sensei would also be part of her Kiln. “He would know me probably as well as anyone.”

Inez leaned back in her chair. She wasn't fidgeting for the first time now that I was the focus of the conversation. “He said you were strong but stubborn, and you pushed yourself to be faster.”

“Did he mention how many times he threw me against the wall?”

“He did take a bit of pride in that.” When Inez smiled, she lit up the whole room. And just like Nash, I felt like I'd been given a gift—that she didn't smile that often, didn't have enough occasions to.

“He's right. I do push myself. Pushed myself a little too hard. But I'd imagine you can understand that when you've got people relying on you, you want to be strong for them.”

“I can.”

I was getting “good guy” vibes from her. I wished I could blame it on some psychic ability, but really it was all in my gut. Still wasn't going to trust her. Not until I knew the story about the scar on her neck. The scar was a little too deep to just make rash decisions. We didn't want another warthog incident.

“I'm not going to propose an alliance. I'm too new at all of this to get interspecies politics involved. But if you've got troubles, know that you can call on me, and I'll let you know . . .”

“The next time a giant snake decides to attack you?”

“Something like that.”

Inez took in a long breath and let it out slowly. “After what Delmont said, I wasn't sure I was going to like you, Violet Jordan.”

“What exactly did Delmont say?”

Inez raised her eyebrows. “He said that you were powerful and would make a good ruler over Dallas.”

I sighed. “I don't want to be a queen, Inez. I just want our people safe.”

She frowned. “You've got the money, the power, and over half the Wanderers in this area on your side, but you'd give up the crown?”

“If there was someone I knew could do it better, yes.”

Inez chuckled. “If your ‘better' is not getting eaten by a snake, I'd like to take a swing at it.”

“The next time a Bigger comes across, I'll let you have a shot.”

Inez settled back into her seat. I felt the play of her energy in the air around us as she drew her finger across the table. “Why did you come alone?”

“I'm never really alone.”

Inez huffed. “Tell me about it. They won't let me go anywhere without Cheech and Chong outside.”

I knew exactly who she was talking about. Their shadows blocked half the window outside. “Big earth elementals?”

“Yeah.”

“I called them Rock and Roll last time they were trying to beat in my brains.”

“Decent guys actually.”

“Aren't they all in the beginning?”

Inez shook his head. “You'll never fully know what Haverty did.”

I nodded. “I won't pretend. I also will never do what he did. Goes against everything that I stand for.”

Inez looked up and I saw the fire in her eyes, literally. “What do you stand for, Violet Jordan?”

I licked my lips and told her the same thing that I had repeated to my pack when I'd first met all of them, when I sat down at these very tables and explained what they could do now. “It's not about the power. It's about the choices you make and the lives that you build. It's always about the home that you go to after the fight and the family in that home.”

Inez looked away as her eyes began to tear. “And if you don't have a family because they were taken from you?”

I reached across the table and took her hand. Her power flared around her and my skin began to burn like holding your hand over a gas flame. But I kept it there. “Then you build one. And you fight for them.”

“There does seem to be a lot of fighting in this world.”

I released her hand and held up my injured arm. “More in mine than most. Sacred destiny or not, life is rough.”

Inez nodded. “I hear you.”

“I will want to know what you guys are up to.”

“What makes you think that I will tell you?”

“Remember that stubborn part that the sensei mentioned? It's true.”

Inez sat up in her chair. “Do you have any concerns?”

“Can I still train with my sensei? I need a good throw-down every now and again to keep me in my place.”

“I don't see why not. Wouldn't mind enrolling myself.”

“Are fireballs not effective enough? Because last time I saw you, it looked pretty darn effective.”

Inez smiled. “They are effective, but they burn the good as well as the bad.”

“Gotcha. Versus a good throat chop that can be aimed at one throat.”

“You have an odd way with words, Miss Jordan.”

I watched her. There was something else that she wanted to talk about. Something more, and it didn't involve ninjitsu. “Anything for me? Questions, comments, concerns?”

Inez looked down at the table. “Be frank with me. How many have you lost to the Lock?”

The images of the ghouls flashed across my brain and my eyes snapped shut for a moment. When I opened them, Inez's knuckles were practically white, knotted together on the table between us.

“None, actually. Been attacked by a few, but all of mine are still standing. Why?”

Inez shook her head. “Nothing.”

She was lying. I'd never seen a lie scream behind someone's eyes like it flashed behind hers.

“You've lost some?” The way her jaw clenched, I knew my answer. I gulped. “How many?”

“Five.”

“I'm sorry.” I couldn't hide the blood draining out of my face. Why did Jovan need all that power?

“I wasn't strong enough.”

“You cannot blame yourself for sins you didn't commit.

Inez rose and I followed suit. “I need to let you go. From what I understand, you have a pack meeting tonight.”

“You know, full moon and all. It was a pleasure meeting you.”

“See you again, Violet Jordan.”

Inez walked back out the door and I saw her and the two brutes pass by the sunny window.

Now that went swimmingly, I thought to myself as I walked behind the counter of the shop. My Plan A of just being Violet Jordan actually worked for once.

I deserved a celebratory coffee.

Everything at the shop was still in its place. Even the fridge was still running. The grinder still worked and the milk was still good.

Freshly made latté in hand, I leaned across the counter of my coffee shop and just took a moment and a sip of coffee—surprisingly, my first of the day. It wasn't horrible.

I looked across the quiet shop and knew that something was wrong. It was more than the espresso, which didn't have Bastian's flair to it.

It was this place. This place needed people. I needed to open it back up and get Bastian back behind the counter to fix me a decent caramel macchiato every morning.

And if needing a decent cup of coffee every morning made me a queen, then so be it.

 

Chapter Fifteen

T
HE FARMHOUSE NEVER
looked so blissfully wonderful before. Its two-story frame stood out against the afternoon sky and it glowed with a homey warmth. It was probably just the sun behind the house because we were pushing late afternoon when we finally arrived, but to this exhausted girl, it was the most beautiful sight on the planet.

I parked closest to the house and watched as the six other cars that had followed me from Dallas found places to stop along the undefined driveway.

I grabbed my overnight duffle and the black canvas bag with the scary stuff I didn't trust to stay at home in it and climbed out of my little car.

“Want to me to corral the others?” Tucker asked behind me.

“Yeah. Let me prepare Iris. And please stop using that word. ”

Iris didn't need preparing. She shuffled out onto the porch in her black orthopedic shoes and looked hard at the line of newbies. Tyler was behind her, wiping his hands on a dish towel. And there was why Iris didn't need preparing.

I met her at the top of the stairs.

“Hairball,” Iris grumbled.

“Old lady.”

I leaned forward and gave Iris a small kiss on the cheek. She still smelled like dust and cashmere and I took a moment to burn it into my brain. That smell was home. I joined her on the top step and we looked out at the new recruits.

“They're a pretty tame bunch,” I started. “We've got enough sleeping bags for everyone to sleep out in the barn.”

“They're not sleeping out in the barn like a bunch of animals. We'll find places inside.”

I was going to protest there was nothing wrong with the barn, but the set of her jaw and the squint of her eyes looked like she was preparing for something, so I wasn't going to fight her on this.

“We got groceries for everyone, working on a potato salad right now,” Tyler said.

“Iris, you didn't have to.”

“Don't think you're not reimbursing me, little miss millionaire.”

I looked to Tyler, who only shrugged. “She deserved to know.”

I couldn't blame him. Iris was damn intimidating despite the silvery bun and apron. She probably broke him with one taste of her sweet tea. “We probably need to discuss some of that.”

Iris nodded. “Already have the iced tea ready. Chaz going to make an appearance?”

I again looked to Tyler, who threw his hands up and went back into the house.

I forced a smile. “You now how those Garrett boys can't resist a free meal.”

Iris frowned. She knew both Chaz and I too well to know everything wasn't all right. “Strapping you two to chairs to work it out is the last thing I want to do, but it's still on the list.”

“Understood. Ready to meet the troops?”

“Guess so.”

“I could really use that whole
How to be a Prima
talk now.” I rocked on the porch.

After getting everyone settled and fed, which was more of a feat that I'd imagined, Tyler took some of the more skittish ones out to the fields to work on some borders and control. He volunteered for the job, actually, surprising me and Tucker most of all. Peter worked on his computer in the living room and somehow Nash had gained access into Iris's secret back room of Wanderer knowledge that I hadn't even ventured into. I'd given him the grimoire the second I'd gotten out of my car and he grabbed it like it was the last piece of birthday cake with the extra icing.

Keeping up the front of put togetherness before the pack had made my skin begin to ache, and when Iris suggested that we take to the porch for some girl talk, I didn't refuse.

“I keep telling you. It's different for each person. This is your pack. Your set of rules.”

“Then at least tell me how you did it.”

Iris's eyes trailed across to the light of the dying sun. “It took me a while. We were just shifters though, and I had the Cause on my side.”

I shook my head. “We don't play nice.”

“You don't play nice with anyone.”

“Managed to keep the elementals at bay.” I was still proud Inez and I hadn't ripped each other's heads off.

Iris sighed. “I kept it simple. Meetings once a month. Let them live how they wanted. Set out some pretty simple rules.”

“Which were?”

“Don't eat anyone. Don't tell anyone. And don't put me in a situation that I won't like.”

“That's it?”

Iris looked over at me with an arched snowy brow. “It was a simple code. Everything seemed simpler back then.”

“Before Haverty, you mean.”

Iris shook her head. “He changed the game. Made it more about power than it had ever been before. And that was before he started in with the demon.” She shifted in her rocker to face me. “It's going to be hard for you to serve your people.”

“What?”

“You've got the heart in the right place, but your pride and power aren't going to help.”

“Iris, that hurts.”

She sighed. “I'm old and tired of wasting all this wisdom on the birds.”

I wanted the wisdom. I wanted to absorb every ounce of wisdom that I could get. But a rumble echoed across the field, a rumble I would have known anywhere. Chaz was back.

“You need to go to him.” Iris slowly pushed herself up and off the rocking chair next to me.

“Know something that I don't?” I watched her shuffle toward the kitchen door.

“Yes. Now mind me for once in your life.” The slamming of the screen door punctuated her command.

Chaz had to park at the end of the long line of cars down the driveway. Which was probably a good thing. I needed a moment to convince myself he hadn't left me again when I needed him. He'd just gone to do his job, just like I had gone to do mine.

At least he came back in one piece. I came back a little chewed on.

His boot steps were heavy as he climbed the porch stairs. He dropped his bag on the wooden slats and trudged toward me.

As I stood, his slid his hands around my waist and rested his heavy head on my shoulder. I fought a wince as he slammed it down on the shoulder with the still tender wounds. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he tightened his arms around me.

“Chaz?”

“Just be still.”

I pressed my lips together and wrapped my arms around him. Only as I relaxed into his embrace and my power pulsed around us did I feel how incredibly exhausted he was.

I wanted to know what happened. I wanted to know if anyone had touched him because I'd just have to rip their head off. I wanted to know because suddenly I was scared.

I heard him grunt as my embrace grew a little too embracey.

“Sorry,” I said as I loosened my arms around him.

Chaz pulled away and his golden green eyes looked down at me, complete with the dark circles I was getting known for having.

“What happened?” I kept my voice to a whisper.

“I chose you.”

I pulled away further to focus a little better on his words. “Huh?”

His hands rested on my hips as his gaze rested somewhere around my left ear. “I went to Andrea. Explained I couldn't work cases anymore. Couldn't be running all over the country.”

“But . . .”

He raised an eyebrow and I swallowed my protest.

“I'm out.”

I frowned when I realized what he was saying and looked down at the inside of his left forearm where the Cause's mark used to be branded into his skin. His skin was perfect, like there had never been a spell there at all.

“I'm choosing this life, this fight.”

The smile that overcame me was contrary to the tears that welled up in my eyes. I wrapped my arms around his neck and for a moment the sunset was brighter, the birds were chirping, and there wasn't an evil bastard trying to bleed me through the Veil.

“Vi,” he squeaked.

I jumped back and giggled. Actually giggled. “Sorry.”

“I'm still not ready to be part of the pack.”

“Okay.” I nodded. “I need at least one person left to Taser me.”

The furrow that appeared between Chaz's brows might have beat his world record for the fastest and the deepest.

I sighed. “It's a long story.”

“There's more. You've got to give a little, Violet. You've got to make some decisions too.”

“What?”

“Things have got to change. It's not working, for me, for you, for them.” Chaz sounded like he had a plan as he pulled me to the railing of the porch and sat me down. “First of all, give up that planner. The guilt on your face when you missed an appointment was painful. It's not you. You're not a planner.”

“Thanks for reminding me.”

“You're welcome. Second. You're going to ask Drew for a hiatus.”

I gasped and tried to stand but Chaz clapped his hand on my injured shoulder and pushed me back to the railing. “But I'm a writer, Chaz. It's who I am.”

“Being a writer is
part
of who you are. I know your writing brain has saved our asses a few times but the world won't end if you don't oversee
MoonBlood
. It actually might end if you don't focus on this story, our story.”

I wanted to protest. But he was right. I wasn't just a writer anymore. I was a Prima and an aunt. I still smiled when I thought about that. “Well, when you put it like that . . .”

“It's not forever, Violet. Probably better that you keep writing, but you don't have to work anymore. The money took care of that. And if you still see it as blood money, then look at it like this: the money is helping you be a better Prima, which makes them a better pack.”

“I bought the coffee shop.” The confession seemed to jump out of my mouth. “To make sure it stayed a haven for the pack. I suppose using a little of it to pay off my mortgage wouldn't make me totally evil.”

“Exactly,” he nodded. “And I really don't care if you fight me on this one, but I'm moving in. The boys can have my house and it's going to be hard, but you're right. There is no
us
anymore. There is
we
and my part in this
we
for now is to be your Guardian. Protect you, even if it's from yourself.”

As the tears welled up in my eyes, I nodded and stood. He let me.

“Agreed. On all terms, Mr. Garrett. And no more house guests, either.”

Chaz let out a long breath. “Good. Because I was getting really nervous about walking in on another one again.”

He pulled me to him and kissed my cheek. I took in a deep breath of his musky scent and burned it into my brain.

“Now what was this about you being Tasered?”

So I told him. Caught him up on the intel from the Shades, the location of the grimoire, what happened with Inez, and even gossiped to him about Jessa and Tucker.

“Huh,” he said as he wrapped his arms around me.

We'd ended up in one of the rockers together. As I talked, his warmth surrounded me and I was probably the most relaxed and rested that I had been in six weeks.

“Yep.” I rested my head on his shoulder. It was amazing that a five-feet-eleven woman could curl into such a tight space, but it was the best tight space to be in.

Chaz sat up and listened. We were still keenly aware of the silence. “Where is everyone?”

“Tyler has them doing something.”

I felt Chaz shift underneath me.

“How is he doing?”

“He just lost the love of his life. He's doing what everyone else would do. He's burying himself in something constructive so he doesn't have to think about it and I'm not going to stop him. Maybe that's what I've been doing? Over-managing everyone so I don't have to think about losing anyone.”

“Because you think you caused it?”

“No,” I sat up and looked down at Chaz. His raised an eyebrow, catching me in another lie. “Yes. But at least Tyler is good at it. His whole nurturing side came out the moment he saw some of these guys. I think we've found our Shala.”

“What about Iris?”

“She thinks she should stay out of this. A fresh pack.”

“But we are here.”

“I didn't say that she doesn't care about us as people. She just doesn't want to get involved in the politics.”

Chaz looked out across the field. The spring sun was going down and I was postponing the inevitable while on the porch with my love.

“You need to go, don't you?”

“Yep.”

“Want me to stay in the house for tonight?”

“Yep.”

“Want me to make breakfast in the morning?”

I nodded with a wide content smile and leaned down to kiss him. It was a simple kiss. We didn't need the big theatrics anymore, because we'd already made our choice. Though I was pretty sure that with a little convincing, I could get some serious theatrics going.

Chaz pushed off the porch chair and I was forced to stand. Plans were foiled again.

“Go be that girl I just gave up my sacred destiny for.”

“Yes, sir.”

Tyler had them all standing just on the other side of the barn. He knew I needed to have Prima time. That I needed to be me for a little while before I was what they needed of me. That's why he was going to be our new Shala. He seemed to know what we needed to make us better.

I waited on the periphery of their circle and slipped off my tennis shoes. It was still amazing to see all of them together. It hadn't happened yet. I'd taken them all on individually, but together like this, their eyes wide in the full moonlight as they listened to Tyler and the rules for that night, they were a force to be reckoned with.

I slid my hand over Tyler's shoulder and his speech stopped. “I think most of us got this.”

I flicked my eyes over to the youngest, Remy, and then back at Tyler. If anyone was going to need his help tonight, it was going to be Remy. And frankly, I wasn't sure how a white-tailed deer was going to fare during hunting season.