Painfully Ordinary Special Edition (21 page)

I was stunned. He was
trying to make small
talk?
Really?
It was so completely out of character for Johr that even Jace and Talon were
looking at him with their mouths hanging open.

Leah grinned.
“Playing pool.”

Johr
surprised us again by chuckling aloud. He gestured to Talon and Jace from
across the table. “You idiots fell for that? Let me guess, they talked you into
playing doubles and then completely owned you?”

Jace snickered.
“Yeah, something
like
that. I don’t think we’ll be
underestimating them again.”

“Smart boy,”
said Breeg.

“Uncle Johr
taught me to play pool years ago. We used to play for hours at a time. He
always teases me about shooting left-handed, even though I’m normally
right-handed, because he does the same thing. I guess we are both freaks.” I
dissolved into giggles.

Johr snapped
his head back in Mom’s direction. She immediately toyed with the charm on her
wine glass and refused to make eye contact with him.

I studied
the two of them and narrowed my eyes. “Did I miss something here?”

Mom seemed
shocked. “No—why would you ask that?”

Johr studied
Mom’s face and then dropped his gaze to his plate. “No, but apparently I did.”
He muttered.

I stared
pointedly at Breeg. I figured he had to know something. I probed at the edges
of his mind. He looked astonished as my voice broke through his consciousness.

Breeg, I know you know what is going on. What
happened down here?

Gel.
Yer powers are impressive. Ye shounna be able
ta get inside ma head so easily.

I have to admit it’s getting easier, not to
mention being DAMN convenient. But, you’re avoiding my question. What is going
on between my mother and Johr?

Child.
Give 'em time ta sort it out betwixt tha
two of ‘em. This has been a long time comin’. It will make sense later. They
both be stubborn as hell

I knew it!

Breeg
flinched slightly as I shouted in his mind. I glanced around to see if anyone
had noticed our silent conversation before continuing.

They do have a history together, don’t
they
? They must have dated seriously when they were younger.
What happened?

Aye.
They have history. I will leave it ta yer
muther ta tell ye tha story. Try ta
be
patient. This
may take some time. There be some old wounds needin’ ta heal and they need ta
learn ta be honest
wi
’ each other. All will work out,
if’n they can keep their foolish pride from gettin’ in tha way.

Wow. I always suspected something. I never thought to ask Mom about it.
It didn’t seem to matter—
Johr’s
been around my entire
life. He’s the one who taught me to play pool and poker, which drove my mom
crazy. Brady adores him. Well, there’s one positive thing about all this: if he
’s all caught up
in some argument with Mom, maybe it’ll get
him off my back for a bit.

Ye do have a bit o’ an imp in
ye
, don’t ye?

I
gave Breeg a dazzling smile. Talon raised his eyebrows at me, probably
wondering what I was
up to
. I watched his eyes slowly
begin to change colors and faced away from him, giving all my attention to
Breeg. I was still angry at Talon, and as far as I was concerned, he could
suffer for a while.

Chapter 17

So Close to Home

The rest of
the night passed without any major drama or fanfare, which was a refreshing
change of pace. We all went upstairs and played a couple of games of cutthroat.
I was perched on the arm of the coach next to Leah and yawning deeply. All of
the men watched me apprehensively
like
I was a time
bomb ready to go off.

“Good Lord. You
people act as if you have never seen anyone yawn
before
.
I’m just tired.”

Breeg
pointed over my head.

Leah sputtered
before breaking out into full-bodied laughter.

Oh, that was
just great.

There were
dozens of tiny stars over my head.

“Crap! I’m
getting a little tired of all these surprises. How am I going to get through an
entire day of school without doing something crazy like conjuring butterflies
or stars, making it rain or blowing something up? This is hopeless.” I plopped
down on the couch and fell over on my side.

Leah patted
me on the knee. Mom came over, wrapping her arms around my shoulders.

“You’ll be
fine—you are tough. All you have to do is not let your emotions run away with
you. You’ll have to keep an iron grip on them. When you feel yourself starting
to lose control, use your necklace.”

She
surprised me with her advice. I took my necklace between my fingers and rubbed
the smooth stone.

“Yes, Caiti.
This is exactly why I gave the necklace to you
and told you never to take it off. It’s been in our family for generations. You
can consider it your lifeline. I’ll tell you the story behind that necklace
some other time when we are alone. You’ll also have Leah,
Jace
and Talon there to help you keep things in check.”

I burst into
hysterics. “Is that supposed to make me feel better? Jace and Talon are going
to be there to help me keep my emotions, not to mention my temper, under
control?
That’s a good one, Mom.” I got up from the couch
and paced around the room slowly.

Johr came
over, grabbing me in a tight hug. “You’ll be okay, baby. You’re stronger than
you realize. I suspect you’re a lot like your father.”

He looked
pointedly at my mother, the question clear in his eyes. She quickly whirled away.

He exhaled
slowly. “Alright, we need to let these girls get some sleep. Kim had Brady
sleep over last night and she should be here any minute with him. I’m sure he’ll
be ready for bed too, if he didn’t already fall asleep in the car.” He motioned
for us to go into my room. “You girls go ahead. We aren’t going anywhere. We’ll
be downstairs sleeping in shifts.”

“
All
of you are going to sleep
here
? Are you serious?” I asked.

Johr winked
at me. “Don’t worry, you’ll sleep just fine. No one is going to bother you. We’re
here to make sure you’re safe.”

I grunted
and walked into my room with Leah, pulling the door closed behind us.

“Can you
believe this? I can’t get away from them. I know you’re probably thrilled with
this setup, but I was hoping for some time to myself.”

“Don’t
stress, Caiti. It’s bad for your complexion.” Leah joked. “Seriously, they’re
downstairs. What
are you so freaked out
about? They
aren’t coming up here. We can still do whatever we want in your room.” She
opened the door and came back with my speakers. “Club Caiti is open for
business.”

“You know
what sounds good?
Some fresh air.
Let’s go take Harley
for a walk before bed. I really need to unwind a bit before I’ll ever be able
to sleep.” I said.

“Do you
think they will let us go?”

“I don’t
really care if they like it or not. I need to get out for a minute. I feel like
I’m slowly suffocating. I’m talking about walking around the block, not running
a 5k. If we really need them, they could get to us in, like, a minute.”

We put on
our shoes and headed downstairs. I opened up the pantry door and stepped in.

“Surely you
aren’t hungry? We just ate,” Mom said.

“Nope.
I’m looking for something.
Aha
! Here it is.”

I came out
of the pantry with Harley’s hot-pink leash and collar. I played with the links
as I walked over to her crate.

The group of
men that had gathered in the den eyed me with great concern.

“Um, what
are you planning to do with that?” Jace asked cautiously.

“Don’t
worry. It’s not for you.” I replied sarcastically.

Johr,
Talon
and
Breeg
sputtered with their
amusement.

“Very funny,”
Jace called at them over his shoulder.

Johr took a
couple of steps forward. “Seriously, though. Caiti, what are you doing?

I dropped my
hands to my sides, exasperated. “Are you really serious? Haven’t you ever seen
someone walk a dog
before
?
Sheesh.
Harley needs to go out before I take her to my room for the night, unless one
of you is planning to clean up the mess in the morning?”

“Talon, Jace, you go with them,” Johr instructed.

“Oh, come
on
!” I wailed. “I’m going to walk my dog
around the block, not to the next county. If we need you, I’ll yell. We’ll be
close enough you’ll be able to hear it from here. I need to wind down some
before I’m ever going to be able to sleep.”

Johr
silently stared at me for a while before looking at Mom and giving her a loving
smile. She seemed
momentarily
surprised, then her lips
turned up.

“Okay,” he said,
relenting. “No longer than fifteen or twenty minutes though, or we are going to
come looking for you.”

I ran over
and threw my arms around his neck. “Thank you for understanding, Uncle Johr,” I
whispered.

He kissed me
on the cheek “I love you, baby-girl,” he whispered back.

When I
pulled out of his embrace, I could have sworn there were tears in his eyes. I
patted him on the arm and walked over to Harley’s crate.

Harley burst
out of the open door with a wagging tail. It made me feel guilty for not
walking her more often. As we passed through the den, I noticed Talon staring
at me with a frown on his face. Now, what was his issue? I was so thankful Johr
had chosen that moment to be understanding. I really needed to get away from
them for a little while.

We stepped out into the warm
night air. Taking a deep breath, I relaxed a little. We walked on in silence,
watching Harley as she stopped to sniff each blade of grass and I sighed
contently. Leah and I proceeded down to the end of the street and cut across
the block. As we headed down the other side, I became agitated. I peeked over
at Leah and found her staring back at me with big eyes.

“Crap. Do
you feel that?” I mouthed at her.

“Yeah, it’s
the same feeling I got before the bonfire,” she whispered. “I feel like we are
being watched.”

***

Talon paced
at the front door. He couldn’t shake his feeling of dread, so he went back into
the den and stood before Johr.

“Sir, I mean
no disrespect, but do you think they should be out walking alone? I feel very
uneasy about this.” Why was he the only one freaking out about this?

Johr
frowned. “Talon, if you feel that strongly about it, then go after them. I
trust your instincts.” He wore a faint smile. “She is your responsibility.”

Talon was
surprised. What exactly did Johr mean by that? Was he simply restoring his
status as the lead on her security team, or was it something more? He didn’t
wait around to find out. He headed for the front door with Jace right on his
heels.

***

“This can’t
be good.
Oh…
ugh.
Leah, do you smell that?” I covered my
nose with my hand.

“Ewww.
Yeah, it smells like rotting eggs. That’s nasty.”

“Oh
crap
!” I shouted. “Look over in the
bushes across the street, but try to act like you aren’t looking.”

Leah turned
her head slightly and shook. “What the hell is that? It looks like… glowing red
eyes.”

“Okay, then
I didn’t imagine it. What are we going to do? We have to cross over to that
side of the street to get back home.”

We weren’t that
far from the house, I could see our porch light and what appeared like figures
pacing outside. I was too afraid to make any sudden movements, since motion could
definitely call the creature’s attention to us.

Leah didn’t
get a chance to answer me. At that moment, a hissing came from the bushes, and
Leah and I screamed.

“
I knew it
!” I heard Talon shout. I
turned and saw Jace as he kicked off his shoes in the front yard and morphed. He
could definitely run much faster in his wolf form. I only hoped it would be
fast enough.

Harley was
snarling and barking at the form in the bushes. Leah picked her up as we ran
blindly toward the house.
The creature was picking up speed
and quickly gained on us.

We were
rounding the corner to our house when a huge wolf jumped out in front of us. Harley
leaped out of Leah’s arms and bolted for home. Leah continued screaming as the wolf
took an aggressive stance next to her.

I shook her
by the shoulders. “Leah! It’s Jace. Calm down.”

The bushes rustled
furiously, and a grey-skinned creature with a canine-like face and huge fangs emerged
from the shadows. It hissed and screeched, showing its forked tongue.

The creature
was making me sick to my stomach and Leah seemed rooted to the spot. I didn’t
think she could move if she wanted to. I backed away slowly. Suddenly, I
was grabbed
from behind, just below my elbows. I screamed
and thrashed until I spun around to face my captor.

Talon’s
beautiful eyes, which were—of course—electric blue was all I could see. He was extremely
angry. I was so happy to see him that I didn’t even care if he was mad at me.
He pushed me behind him and growled deep in his throat. The creature leapt over
Jace, heading directly for me. I grabbed Leah’s hand and we both screamed.

“
No
!”

There was a thunderous
crash followed by a flash of light and the creature was gone.

Jace slowly morphed
back into his human form. He was shaking his head at us in obvious disbelief. “Damn.
What did you two do?”

“They
created a portal to who-knows-where and sent the beast through it.” Talon
sounded impressed.

I pivoted, threw
my arms around his
neck
and rained kisses all over his
face. He picked me up, holding me tight to his chest.

“I was so
scared, but you came for me.” I said. No matter how angry I had been with him
before, he had come to my rescue when I needed him.

“Of course I
came for you. I told you before, you are mine to protect.”

I hesitated
before speaking, not sure I wanted the answer to the question I was about to
ask.

“Is that
duty talking or you?”

“Against my
better judgment, it’s me. I heard you scream and simply couldn’t get here fast
enough. I want you to be prepared though; the portal you two just created may
have set off an alarm with the
Accendersi
.
We need to get you back to the house immediately.”

The
adrenaline was wearing off and I trembled and found myself blacking out. Talon
caught me before I could hit the ground. He cradled me in his arms and carried
me back to the house. Jace wrapped an arm around Leah’s trembling waist and
followed close behind.

Johr and
Breeg were already bursting through the front door by the time we came around
the corner of the house. Breeg’s bushy eyebrows drew together in concern at the
scene in front of him and Johr ran out to greet us with panic in his eyes.

“Dear
Oberon! Is she okay? What happened?” His voice rose in alarm. He reached over trying
to take me out of Talon’s arms.

Breeg stared
at the sky and put a hand on his arm. “Johr, we must get inside right away.”

Johr nodded
and propelled us all toward the door while he brought up the rear.

Jace held
the door open so Talon could carry me inside. He went directly to one of the
couches in the den and gently laid me down. Breeg quickly walked to the
fireplace and quickly lit a cheery fire. He reached into his pocket, pulled out
a handful of bright green dust and threw it into the flames while muttering in
a strange language. Soon, the room
was bathed
in a
soft green glow.

I blinked
several times trying to clear my vision. Mom walked in with an armful of clean
laundry. She gasped, immediately dropping it on the floor and making a beeline
for where I was lying. She pushed the two men out of her way, grabbing me in a
tight hug.

“What
happened?”

Johr studied
Talon with admiration in his eyes. “Talon saved her.” Talon stared back at him,
stunned. Jace and Leah were standing behind him, smiling, with Jace’s arm still
firmly around Leah’s waist.

Mom whipped
around to Talon. She let me go and grabbed him about the neck, hugging him.

“Thank you. I’m
forever in your debt. I never dreamed she would be in any real danger so close
to the house.” She turned back to Johr with soft eyes. “What exactly happened?”

Johr
motioned for Talon to relay the story.

He glanced
from Johr to Mom and uttered a single word, “Chupacabra.”

Her hand
flew to her throat. “Here?
Johr!
What if the boys
hadn’t been in time?” Her hands trembled.

He took her
hands in his, gently kissing her knuckles. “I promise you no harm will come to
her while we are here.”