Soar (The Empire Chronicles #1) (17 page)

She opened the door slowly, taking a seat on the edge of the tub. “Crazy, huh?”

She spoke so casually, and it immediately put me at ease.

“Yeah. Crazy is a good word for it.”

“Have you known Toby long?” She seemed to be asking in order to make conversation rather than because she wanted to pry. It reminded me that she was his ex-girlfriend. The one who’d left him heartbroken somehow.

“I’ve served him coffee for months, but we only started hanging out this week.”

She smiled lightly. “He’s a nice guy.”

“You dated him.” I didn’t bother phrasing it as a question.

“In high school. It just didn’t work out.”

“Yeah…was it mutual?”

“The breakup? No. He took it kind of rough.” She wasn’t gloating, and I was glad to see it. I liked her, and that would have made any semblance of a friendship impossible.

“About that…”

“Yes?”

“Why do your friends think he dumped you? Did you let him save face or something?”

Her face scrunched up. “What friends said that?”

“Jess and Emmett.”

“You know Jess?” A puzzled look crossed her face. “She knows I’m the one who broke up with him.”

“She said it was the opposite, but it doesn’t matter.”

“I guess not…” She seemed to think on it for a second. “But back to the here and now. How’d you end up at this house?”

“I was being chased by a bear.”

“Ah. It’s dangerous to be around these guys.”

“I think the bear would have found me anyway.” I don’t know why I was so forthcoming with information, but she seemed like someone I could trust. Maybe it was the comfort of girl talk after hours of being with just boys.

“A good rule of thumb is that even if trouble would find you anyway, it’s still their fault. It’s more satisfying to view things that way.” She smiled, and I could tell she was kidding. I could also tell she had her own crazy story to tell.

Cody had already answered the question, but I wanted to hear it with my own ears. “Are you completely…well…”

“Human?”

“Yeah.”

“Yes. I’m human, and if Toby and Jared are both vying for you, I’m pretty sure you’re human too.”

“They’re not both vying for me. Anyway, they really only date humans?”

She laughed. “They are. It’s cute to see Jared that way. And yeah, it’s a weird Pteron thing.”

“Was it hard to get used to all this?” I spread my arms, but I assumed she knew I wasn’t referring to the bathroom.

“Very. I ran from it quite a few times, but my situation was different.”

“Did you freak when Toby showed you his wings?” Thinking about his wings was less frightening than I’d expected. I was more curious than anything, which was strange. I would have thought I’d be afraid.

“I saw Levi’s first.” She laughed. “Okay, that sounds kind of bad. Let’s be more specific. I saw Levi’s wings first.”

“Did you know Toby wasn’t human when you dated?”

“Not at all. I didn’t find out until I was already with Levi.” She shook her head, displacing some long, brown hair from her shoulder. Allie was gorgeous with big green eyes situated in a face that could definitely be defined as classically beautiful. She probably could have had a career in modeling. I tried not to let that intimidate me any more than her title already did.

“Oh. That must have been crazy to hear.”

“Tell me about it.” She tilted her head slightly.

“I’m sorry I ran off like that. I’m just not sure how to act. I mean you’re a queen and I’m crying all over the place.”

She laughed again. “Yeah, I’m a queen, but I’m also a nineteen-year-old college student. Don’t sweat it.”

“So what now?”

“Now we get out of the bathroom and grill the boys about what’s going on. I hate being left in the dark.”

“All right. Sounds like a plan.”

I followed Allie out of the bathroom and down another hallway. She listened at the door for a second.

“You can come in,” someone called from inside.

“I hate your super hearing.” Allie pouted before taking a seat on Levi’s lap. There were no empty chairs so I just stayed in the doorway.

“You can sit with me.” Jared smirked. I wanted to make a smart ass comment back, but I’d already embarrassed myself once.

“Here, take my seat.” Toby vacated the chair behind a heavy wooden desk.

“That’s okay.”

“I insist.” He took a seat on the desk.

“Thanks.” I sat down in the leather chair.

“What did we miss?” Allie didn’t wait a beat.

“All right, let’s see.” Levi adjusted her on his lap. “Last night, we successfully took out the largest contingent of bears in the city, but some escaped. Combine that with the mumblings of similar uprisings in other regions, and the confirmed attacks in LA, and—”

Allie put a hand on Levi’s leg. “Wait, attacks in LA? That’s Cade’s territory. Does he know?”

“Yes, babe. I’m well aware that you gave LA to Cade. We spoke a few minutes ago.” Levi’s response was laced with some slight annoyance, but he didn’t seem particularly upset. I wondered who Cade was and how Allie could give him a major city.

“What are we going to do?” She turned so she could look at him.

“We’re going to be ready for the attacks. We’re going to take everyone, and we’re going to break the prisoners we’re holding.”

“Prisoners?” I asked. I wasn’t good at staying quiet.

“Yes. We took some last night.”

“And then there’s Bryant,” Jared said quietly.

I looked around questioningly. “Who’s that?”

“My brother.” Jared stood up like he was ready to leave.

“What does he have to do with this?”

Toby turned to me. “Our informant said he’d tell us what we need to know.”

“Your informant?”

“Marv…”

“Oh.” Of course. Jared’s brother, my boss, everyone was connected.

“Toby, I want you down in New Orleans with us. From Jared’s briefing, Marv only responded to you. We may need his cooperation.”

“Fine. I just need to set up some security for Casey.”

“Can I come?” The words flew out of my mouth without thinking. Had I just invited myself on a paranormal reconnaissance mission?

“You want to come?” Toby asked. “You really don’t have to.”

“Have you ever been to New Orleans?” Jared asked from the doorway.

“No.”

“Then she’s coming.” Allie hopped off Levi’s lap. “Besides, that way I can introduce her to Hailey and everyone.”

I had no idea who Hailey and everyone was, but I appreciated her enthusiasm.

“She’d be safer there.” Levi looked at both Toby and Jared for an answer. I guess he was deferring the decision to them. I wondered why Jared had any say in it.

“I say yes. She’ll enjoy the experience.” The twinkle in Jared’s eye made me wonder if he meant the city or spending time with him.

“I’d prefer to keep her close anyway.” Toby smiled at me. “If that’s okay with you.”

“It’s more than okay.” If our kissing earlier hadn’t made that clear, I didn’t know what would.

“Good.”

“I’m guessing you don’t want Casey’s first flight to be that long.” Levi stood up, reminding me of just how intimidating he was. He even
looked
powerful. “I have the jet waiting, or you could take your own plane.”

“We’ll take our own. We’ll have to fly back on our own in a few days.”

Jared smiled at me. “Maybe I’ll join you guys. See if the Blackwell’s air digs are as nice as the Laurents’.”

Levi and Allie exchanged a glance. “Sorry to ruin your fun, Jared. But you’re flying yourself. I need you handling things for our visit to Bryant.”

“Fine.” He strode over to the desk, leaning around Toby to look at me. “See you soon, Casey. Have a nice flight.” He winked before walking out of the room.

Toby took my hand. “I’ll have the plane waiting for us. If you want to shower, feel free. I’ll leave your bag outside the door.”

“My bag?” I stood up.

“I packed a few things for you before I headed up here.”

I stepped back. “You went into my home and packed some of my clothes?”

Levi laughed. “This is so much better when I’m not the one getting berated.”

“I’m going to save you both from wasting the time and energy of having a fight.” Allie turned to me. “Toby shouldn’t have gone in your room and touched your stuff without permission, but he probably thought he was being thoughtful.”

“I did, I just wanted you to—”

Allie held up a finger. “And Toby, you shouldn’t have done it without permission, but I’m sure Casey will appreciate having something to wear. That is, if you packed decent stuff.”

“Decent stuff?”

“If it’s all sexy lingerie, I’ll help her get you back.”

Toby smiled. “I’m pretty sure I packed reasonably, and I tried not to spend too much time in your underwear drawer.”

“Good.”

After saying goodbye to everyone, mostly Allie, I made my third trip to that same bathroom. I locked the door and checked it twice before getting undressed and under the spraying water. The warm water washed away some of the grit of the day, and it woke me up. I reluctantly turned off the water and stepped out of the steamy stall.

Wrapped in a decently soft towel, I unzipped the duffel bag. Toby had done well. I pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt as well as some fresh underwear. He’d grabbed a few cotton pairs, and I appreciated it.

One thing Toby didn’t pack was a brush, so I attempted to use my fingers to straighten out the tangled strands. I searched through my purse and thankfully found an old hair tie and quickly pulled my hair up into a messy bun.

The house was quiet, but I thought I heard water running in the kitchen. I slowly walked down the hallway and took a moment to study the pictures on the wall. Most of them were portraits of people, but there were several landscape paintings mixed in. I walked the rest of the way to the kitchen.

“Feel better?” Toby asked. He was washing off the left over pancake dishes.

“Sorry about that.”

“The dishes? Don’t be. I’m glad you ate.”

“Did you eat?” I knew how little food was in the house, and I had a feeling he hadn’t stopped to eat before leaving the city.

“Yeah, I reheated some of the pancakes.”

“Did they taste okay?”

“They were fine.” He rinsed off the remaining dish and turned to me. “Did I pack all right?”

“Yes. Thank you.” I wasn’t going to mention a missing hairbrush when I’d already been mad at him for being in my stuff at all.

“Everyone else went ahead. If you’re ready, we can go.” He sounded eager, and I wasn’t sure if it was to get down to New Orleans or to get out of the house. He didn’t seem to be a big fan of the place.

“I’m ready.”

Toby picked up my duffel and another bag sitting by the front door. I assumed that was full of his stuff. I wasn’t sure how he flew with them, but I didn’t need to know.

He locked up the house behind us and then opened the back seat of the car. After tossing in our bags, he opened the passenger door for me. I always liked when a guy did that. I was all about dating a gentleman—even if he also happened to have wings.

***

Like most people, I’d never been on a private jet before. I associated them with individuals who had way too much extra money. The thought of flying on one left me with a mix of nerves and excitement.

We pulled into the small airport, and I tried to choke down my nerves. They weren’t going to help me. I had no one to blame for my current position. Toby seemed more than happy to let me go back to the city with some protection, but that wouldn’t get me closer to Vera. Delusional or not, I was convinced that sticking close to the Pterons would give me safer access to the bears, and a fighting chance of getting her back. Also, if Vera was tied in with the attacks, any information they found might help me.

“Are there going to be more passengers?” I asked as Toby led me down the tarmac.

“Why? Are you afraid of being alone with me?” he teased.

“No.” I quickly brushed off the suggestion I knew was in his words. “I’m just wondering.”

“Marv and my assistant are coming.”

“Who’s your assistant?”

“Nelly.”

I pictured Nelly as a knock out blonde with perky breasts and perfectly white teeth. Although I didn’t have much to go on when imagining what the executive assistant for a paranormal leader would look like. “Oh. Okay.”

“I wanted her to come so I’d have more time to spend with you.” He rested his hand on the small of my back.

“Really?”

“Why do you sound so surprised?”

“Because with everything else going on, are you really worried about spending time with me?”

He didn’t hesitate with his answer. “Yes.”

I smiled, taking big steps to keep up with his pace.

We boarded the plane, and the first thing I noticed was Marv sitting next to a dark haired woman. Even seated, I could tell she was petite and she smiled at me lightly as we approached.

She stood up and shook my hand. “You must be, Casey. Toby’s told me so much about you.”

I glanced at Toby.

He took my arm and gestured to the slight woman. “This is Nelly.”

“You’re Nelly?” She didn’t fit my image at all. “Hi, Marv.” I belatedly greeted my boss. I wasn’t sure what I thought about the fact that he was a bear. Did he really just randomly hire me? Did Murphy find me because of where I worked?

“Hi, Casey. I’m sorry you’ve been brought into all of this.” His words sounded genuine.

“We should take a seat.” Toby walked further back and waited for me to take the window seat. I buckled my seatbelt while he sat down. “Once we take off, we can move somewhere more comfortable.”

“This is perfectly comfortable.”

He smiled. “You are so low maintenance.”

“As compared to?”

“I don’t know…you just seem so easy for a girl.” He seemed to think better about his word choice when he saw my face. “Not easy in that way, but easy going.”

“Sure.” I feigned offense, but I took it as a compliment.

“This should be a really short flight anyway.”

I shifted in my seat. “But it should be enough time for you to answer more questions.”

“Sure.” He stretched out his long legs that were currently covered in jeans. He’d taken a break from the suits.