rogue shifter 06 - torn apart (27 page)

"Are you sick, Mommy?" I jumped, because the room was still as black as ink and I hadn't sensed anyone else nearby. I rolled over to face my not-so-mysterious visitor. The weight on the bed shifted as he sat next to me."You came home faster and now you won't wake up. You missed breakfast
and
lunch and it's almost dinner. You're gonna starve."

Leave it to a male shifter to keep track of time by missed meals. "I'm fine, honey. Why don't you push the button to open the blinds?"

"Okay." I heard soft footsteps moving to the wall, then the purring sound of the metal blinds lifting to reveal the woods outside my window lit only by the late afternoon sun.

He whispered. "Daddy said I shouldn't bother you. He checked on you a couple of times but I was worried."

"I'm glad you checked, but I'm fine."

"Isaiah let you come home early?"

"Yes. He didn't need me anymore, but I still owe him a day this month."

"What did you do this time?" He sat next to me on the bed again, curling his legs into a pretzel and facing me.

"I went to a party."

"Did you see another slumpy guy?"

"No, but I did talk to an unseelie fae with ten fingers on each hand. He was a musician named Vikal. The extra fingers came in very handy because his piano had a much longer keyboard." I stroked his hair and smiled as I took in his scent. As usual, the two days away from my males had felt like forever.

"Wow." He wiggled his meager ten. "I could use some extra for my guitar."

Before I could respond, Garrett appeared in the doorway looking relieved. "I need to speak to Daddy for a few minutes. I'll tell you all about it during dinner. I promise."

"Okay. Jay's here. Everyone's eating with us, so you better get up soon." He jumped off the bed and ran out of the room, his dad mussing his hair as he ran by.

Garrett sat in the spot Charlie had already warmed, leaning over to kiss me sweetly on the forehead. His expression was amused. "Did you rest well? You must have appeared sometime during the morning, because I woke unexpectedly, tucked you under the covers next to me and then closed my eyes again. When I rose this afternoon, you were still sound asleep. Do you feel alright, love?"

"Perfect, now." I wrapped my arms around his waist and sighed with my head against his chest. "But there's something I have to tell you."

"Coming from you, those words always make me nervous," he only half-teased. "I'm listening." He kissed my hair and sat quietly while I spoke. I began with the party, the retelling only taking a few minutes.

"William was there?" His body had tensed beneath mine.

"As a solid shade. Nothing more." To spare Garrett's feelings, I didn't mention William's miserable mental state, mostly because Garrett still felt guilty about not being able to prevent Will's death. Will had been a member of Garrett's nest and my mate took his responsibility to the vampires in his charge seriously. I'd have to go into more detail later when everyone was here, but I could avoid the worst parts for now.

"And he asked for Marie?" I nodded, squeezing his arm in support. "What reason could Will have to see Marie?"

"I'm not sure. Tomorrow I'll contact her and we'll see what she says."

His expression remained grim. I knelt behind him on the bed, kissed his neck and then massaged his shoulders and back, listening to the satisfied sounds he made as I worked on knotted muscles.

"I miss you and Charlie so much when I'm there. Thank you for taking such good care of him while I'm gone."

"He's my son and I love him
almost
as much as his mother." He took my hand off of his shoulder and pulled me into his lap. He kissed the top of my head, then moved his kisses down the side of my face to the corner of my mouth. "Isaiah treated you well?"

I sighed and snuggled closer. then thought about the sexy disguise and Isaiah's kisses, deciding that now wasn't the time to come clean. "Yes. He's protecting me from Grandmother. I'd like to meet with Lord Caelen if that's possible."

"I'm sure he'll be interested in any information you've brought back from enemy territory."

"Charlie said everyone is eating dinner with us. Who's everyone?"

"The team. We have another job." He wrinkled his brow the way he did when he was communicating mentally, then smiled. "Caelen and Aedus are coming too."

"Good. I'll jump in the shower."

"I'll tell the others that you've finally risen."

I rolled my eyes at him. "They're here already?"

"Since four."

"What time is it?"

"Six fifteen." Garrett laughed at the sound of my groan. My sleeping habits would be the subject of too many jokes to count over dinner.

When I joined the gathering, everyone was lounging with drinks in the patio area. Lord Caelen's expression was pained as he listened to Kyle talk excitedly about a new invention. "It's true, Lord Caelen, the sword is powered remotely to come to you anywhere within a fifty mile radius."

"Perhaps that would be useful if you could somehow warn the surrounding area occupants to look up and protect their necks."

Kyle snorted out a laugh. "Nah. It doesn't fly through the air. It travels the lines like you do."

"Hmmm." Caelen seemed doubtful.

"Yeah, it's cool. It can be used for any kind of weapon. You just carry a tiny locator charm and it's keyed to you specifically. I already tried it out with Ethan. Jackie and Garrett have been helping us with the ley line thing when they have the time."

"Why would this be needed by the fae? We can conjure our swords in an instant."

"What if you'd been blocked from your magic, lets say, for the purposes of negotiating with an enemy. You could show up unarmed, but if things went sour, with the flick of a button, you'd have your sword in your hand."

"If I had given my word to come unarmed, then using your device would be dishonorable."

"Yeah, but you wouldn't be dead." Kyle shrugged. Aedus and Liam were standing together and laughing at their father's uncertain gaze. Talking to Kyle could do that to you.

Thinking that he wouldn't be comfortable waiting on his dad, I'd told Liam to relax and let me serve dinner. Unfortunately, he insisted, although Ethan, and I helped while Sasha got the drinks. Tonight Liam was wearing an apron that said "Fae's Kitchen" with a pixie male standing on a rock looking fierce, flames shooting up around him. Lord Caelen was glancing at it with a certain amount of trepidation, not getting the joke. Liam couldn't seem to resist another opportunity to annoy his father.

I was glad that Jay and Charlie had already eaten, their sporadic giggles heard as they played video games upstairs. There was no reason for them to have to hear about William or the army Bridgett was gathering.

A few minutes into the meal, I began recounting my latest adventures in the DR. Everyone was very quiet when I told them about Will, this time not leaving anything out.

"I find I have such mixed feelings," Garrett shared. "I'm glad that he's sentient, even if he's only a shade, but I'm distressed that he's suffering."

"Bridgett should be drawn and quartered." Sasha growled.

"I cleared his aura, so he seemed more like himself. What do you think he wants from Marie?"

Caelen spoke. "He might feel that he can give her information to bring back to us. You should contact her as soon as possible."

"It's dangerous for her there. Her energy attracts some of the lower caste demons and unseelie fae. She was attacked once, before I made her my familiar. Still, she wants to help, so I've sent her there a few times to spy. She hasn't found out much."

"Perhaps William has a way to contact her when she arrives." Liam suggested.

"It would be useful to have a contact on the inside, but I hate to use him in that way," Garrett added.

"He's no longer your responsibility." Caelen waved his hand in dismissal.

I scowled at Caelen. "Garrett and Will have a shared bloodline. They were together for thirty years." Garrett frowned at me, but I didn't care. "Your twin sister is just as big a danger to Charlie as the archdemon. Are you handling that end?" Where Charlie's life was concerned, I wasn't a diplomat, just a mom on a mission.

Liam sent to me, "
Jacqueline, that was impertinent
." Huh. It was okay for him to piss off his dad, but not me.

Hesitating, Caelen seemed to be mulling over possible answers to my
impertinent
question. Finally he sighed and gazed at me with his patented watch-your-step gaze. "Yes, I am handling it, but I will not elaborate." He wouldn't put any of his undercover op's lives in danger and I respected him for it.

We continued to watch each other for a moment, then he smiled. "Jacqueline, how were you able to attend this event in Isaiah's realm? Surely you would have been recognized."

Busted, I sighed. "Isaiah disguised me and my scent. He made me a werewolf."

"A female?" I nodded. "Whom did he say you were?"

"The wife of a dead enemy."

"Ah, so you were treated as his
property
?" I grimaced and nodded again. I noticed Garrett looking at me strangely. "Demons like to show off their property, don't they?"

"He danced with me and introduced me around. The disguise was good. I didn't look anything like myself."

"I'm certain that Isaiah did everything in his power to convince the others at the gathering that he was enjoying you. Of course, he told you it was for your own safety. Did any of them ask to purchase you?"

"He told them no." Looking down at my hands, I muttered. "It was to get information..."

Aedus spoke up, hoping to change the subject. "Father, perhaps you would like to meet Marie yourself. She is quiet extraordinary."

He smiled at his son. "I would enjoy that very much. I have had few dealings with shades." And that was that. He let the subject drop. Unfortunately the damage had been done. Garrett would be asking me about it later.

The team got down to business when Caelen, Aedus and Liam left.

"Fred is having some trouble at The Wild with a vampire and most of his nest. I'd like to show up at the club tomorrow night to see what's up." Garrett sat in his usual spot at the head of the table. I was at the other end, avoiding his gaze as much as possible.

Ethan spoke. "There's more. Some women and men have been taken from the surrounding towns, all human, all in their twenties. We think he's turning them against their will."

"It's a common ploy when a vampire wants to enlarge or strengthen his nest. If it's true, I'll have to inform NAVA. Our team will be brought in to handle the case, since it's in my territory."

"Tomorrow night we'll meet at Kyle's around eight and go from there. I'll bring Sash and Rick in my car. Kyle, you and Ethan can drive together. You know what to bring, in case there's trouble."

"Sure. My trunk's already loaded up."

"Should we ask Liam to come with us?" All eyes turned in my direction.

Garrett spoke in clipped tones. "It's not necessary . We're just there to talk to Fred and see who shows up. In fact, I think it's best if you stay with Charlie. You just got back and he needs you." He turned away from me and spoke to Ethan, ignoring my angry expression. "How're the classes going? Almost finished?"

"Yep. I graduate in January." Ethan had been taking classes at a local college on and off for five years, majoring in engineering. We were all proud of him.

I spoke over the others. "I was gone a day and a half. Charlie will be fine. He knows I work with the team, I've spoken to him about it."

Garrett sent the next sentence.
"You should rest. I'm sure your training with Isaiah was exhausting."

When he turned back toward Ethan, I stood up. "Kyle, I'll go upstairs and send Jay down."

"Thanks, Jackie." He smiled, glancing between me and Garrett with apprehension.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow. Goodnight." I turned with as much dignity as I could muster and walked upstairs.

The kids pouted at first, but Noriene had them packing up the game and marching downstairs a few minutes later. That evening, the newscaster had reported that there would be a meteor shower visible in the sky. Normally, this would be something Garrett and I would watch together, but I hadn't misread his expression, a mixture of hurt and anger. Supernaturals were territorial. No matter how modern Garrett thought his attitudes were, Isaiah claiming me as his
property
was something he'd find impossible to tolerate. And he didn't know the worst of it yet.

When I heard the front door close, I expected him to come up, but instead I heard him head into his office and make a phone call to Rob. He left me on the terrace alone with my thoughts and my anger and yes, my guilt for over an hour. I couldn't enjoy the stars or the fresh night air without thinking about what was to come. When he arrived, he took my hand and led me to the wicker couch, pulling me down to sit beside him. We sat silently hand in hand for at least five minutes, watching the skies, neither one of us wanting to start the conversation that might end in a battle.

I ducked under his arm and hugged him, resting my head on his chest. He stroked my hair, but didn't kiss my head the way he usually would when I was snuggled against him. "Please tell me everything." His voice was a whisper.

"I kissed him to make the party guests think we were lovers."

He stiffened under my body as he digested this information."Did he force you?"

"No. He told me it was necessary so they wouldn't be suspicious. We were playing a role."

Three heartbeats later he asked, "Would you have told me if Caelen hadn't mentioned it?"

I thought about it carefully, wanting to be completely honest with him. "Maybe not."

"Why?"

"Because it didn't mean anything."

"Truly? You thought I would feel the same? That it wasn't important enough to mention." He didn't hide his sarcasm.

"I thought the info about Will would hurt you, and I didn't want to make it worse."

"That might be part of it, Jackie, but that's not the whole truth and you know it." There was a hard edge to his voice that made me cringe. He pulled his arm away and twisted his body so he could see my face. "Tell me the rest."