Charity Received (14 page)

“Son of a bitch,” Tempy suddenly spit out. “Damn it, Chari, I told you to leave it here.”

“I know. I know. But whoever took it can’t possibly know what they have. Hell, there’s no way they should even be able to open the box. Maybe Hope has some idea of what happened to it.”

Tempy concurred, and some of Charity’s tension drained away. “There is that, thank God. I’ll find Hope first thing. And if you think Prue will go crazy over the situation with your mate, we really shouldn’t tell her about this.”

Charity agreed. Prue would raze the city looking for that sword. Normally so would Charity, but she had something more important to protect now. And she trusted Tempy to take care of the matter in any way necessary. They both understood what would happen should it fall into the wrong hands. Whole paranormal species could vanish from the face of the earth in the blink of an eye.

“Zeke is probably already looking for me,” Charity stated as Tempy walked her to her vehicle. “And his car.”

Tempy looked perplexed. “His car?”

“How do you think I got away from the abbey? I kind of stole it.”

At first Tempy looked shocked, and then she grinned. “Grand theft auto. You’ve really come up in the world, Chari.”

“Ha-ha.” Charity hugged Tempy before climbing behind the wheel of her SUV.

“Call me, no matter the time, as soon as you get to Merceline’s.”

Charity nodded, then drove away from the city she’d grown to love. From the only place she’d ever felt was home. Where her mate was. That was the hardest part. As soon as she passed the Seattle city limits, her wolf began to protest, and she had to force herself to remain on the road.

Her cell phone rang off the hook, but the number was always the same, one she didn’t recognize. And she wasn’t about to answer it. It could only be Zeke in an angry fit over his car or Hope pissed because she’d learned about Kash. Either way, Charity didn’t blame them. But she wasn’t dumb enough to respond.

* * *

Mentally and emotionally exhausted, Charity climbed the three flights of stairs to Merceline’s apartment. It was midnight; the likelihood of her cousin being home was slim. Her fist connected with the door, and when she received no response, she fished out the key Merceline kept hidden behind the light fixture.

An immense sigh of relief escaped from her chest as she stumbled into the apartment. A shower. Then bed. In that order. God, she missed Kash already. And she knew the longing would only get worse. She had to concentrate on the baby. Her daughter. It was her redemption, for if she couldn’t hang on for her child, she was doomed to a life of insanity. And a crazy wolf was a dead one, weeded from the pack before it was driven to harm others.

For what seemed like the hundredth time, Kash tried the number Zeke had given him, but Charity still didn’t answer. Stuffing the phone back into his pocket, he sighed and climbed into the black Dodge Ram 350. With Zeke’s car gone and Kash’s only means of transportation his two Harleys, they were forced to use Jet’s monstrous pickup.

“You sure you want to drive this beast? It barely fits through the gates. We could just teleport to Club Dominus.”

The look Zeke flashed him indicated he questioned Kash’s sanity. “And risk a human seeing us? I’m in enough shit with Remy. I don’t need that kind of trouble.”

“What’d you do?” Kash was curious. Of all the brothers, Zeke, Remy, Bale, and Arak were the tightest, having been together since the early days. That they might be at odds now seemed hard to believe.

“I objected to an assignment.” Kash arched a brow, and Zeke sighed. “I wanted to look for Charity.”

Kash nodded, turning to glance out the window. He figured he should feel threatened by Zeke’s interest, but instead, he felt only relief. If anything ever happened to him, Zeke would protect Charity. The knowledge brought peace to his soul.

“Should you be coming with me tonight, then?” Kash didn’t want Zeke to get his ass chewed out over this. Not for helping him. From the corner of his eye, he saw Zeke grin.

“Fortunately we no longer have a shithouse. Remy would just love giving me something disgusting like that to clean out. The vindictive bastard.”

Kash chuckled, then sobered. It was only fifty years ago that Caym had often found himself on the receiving end of such a punishment. Christ, he missed the other brother. Raym would eventually be punished, but how many more would suffer before that happened? Caym had paid with his life, and Penny, her heart. Bale had almost lost his mate. Who would be next?

The sound of Metallica’s “Of Wolf and Man” coming from his pocket distracted Kash from that train of thought. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he rolled his eyes.

Arak had obviously been messing with their phones again.

“Hey, doll. What’s up?” Kash cursed silently at the way Zeke tensed next to him.

“Kash, I think Charity’s been here. Her SUV is gone, and Zeke’s piece of shit is parked out front.” Hope’s voice came through softly, as if she were speaking to a wounded animal. And maybe just a day ago, those words would have set him off, but Kash was feeling surprisingly good for a male whose mate had just fled from him—

again.

“We’re headed that way. See you in a bit.” Before Hope could question him further, Kash hung up. He wasn’t in the mood to defend Zeke’s presence. And when he glanced at his brother, he found Zeke watching. “Your car is at the condo, and Charity’s is gone.”

Zeke returned his gaze to the road. “Then why do we need to go there? We already know she’s not there.”

Kash sighed. Zeke might have tried to keep his voice neutral, but he hadn’t succeeded in completely concealing his sneer. “Because I want to see if she took anything. It’ll tell me if she’s planning to return.”

Zeke only nodded, but he gripped the steering wheel so tightly, Kash was surprised it didn’t snap under the pressure. Christ, he hated this. Zeke was his brother, but Hope was his friend. The continual sniping between the two gave him a headache.

He didn’t know how Bale managed to keep a grip on his sanity.

* * *

Hope opened the door, her heart sinking when she saw Kash wasn’t alone. And though she should have known by his abrupt tone on the phone that Zeke was with him, she wasn’t prepared to see the bastard. It was too soon. She was too raw, too wounded by what she’d overheard him tell Arak to deal with his condemnation. At one time she’d believed his attitude was a shield, a way to deny his feelings for her.

But she no longer deluded herself—Zeke just didn’t give a shit about her.

Kash smiled as he stepped around her and made his way farther into the condo. But not Zeke. He brushed past her without even acknowledging she was in the same world as him, much less occupying the same space. With her stomach a molten ball of jumbled nerves, Hope trailed behind the pair into the living room.

“What do you hope to find?” she asked, keeping her gaze glued on Kash and desperately trying to pretend Zeke wasn’t even there, though every fiber of her being was in tune to his slightest movement.

Kash shrugged. “Not certain, really. Anything to indicate what Charity’s intentions are.”

“Well, let me know if you need anything,” she said quietly. Then she turned and, against her will, her gaze drifted to where Zeke stood, watching her with a frown embedded deep on his face. Really, she should be used to it. Hope couldn’t recall him having ever looked at her any differently, but still, tears stung her eyes as a sharp ache struck her deep in the chest, and she drew in a rapid breath.

For a moment, Hope thought she saw Zeke’s eyes fill with concern, as if he sensed the distress that had come over her, but she quickly dismissed that fanciful notion.

Even if he did have some idea of the agony he caused her, she didn’t really think he would care. He never had before.

Leaving both males to their own devices, Hope returned to the dining room, where she’d been working before Kash and Zeke had interrupted her. She tried to concentrate on the papers before her, but they all seemed to just blur together.

Sighing, she lowered her head to the drafting table. Why did she keep doing this to herself? If she was smart, she’d have already gotten out of this town. Maybe she was just addicted to the pain.

“You know, if you hadn’t started this stupid shit about Kash being your mate, Charity never would have taken off.”

Zeke’s belligerent tone whipped around her, and Hope sucked in a sharp breath, her muscles cramping as they tightened. She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms with a stinging bite. She spun in her chair, then focused on the physical ache instead of the mental blow of his words, because she refused to let him see just how badly he could destroy her.

The area was too damn small; Zeke’s large frame seemed to engulf the room. Hope jumped to her feet, hiding behind an angry facade as she stalked toward Zeke, stopping only when she was inches from him.

“First off, you condescending asshole, I never ever told Charity Kash was my mate.

Despite what you think of me, I’m not that cruel. I saw every damn day how she struggled with the belief that her mate had died. And furthermore, I wasn’t even the one who perpetrated that lie, so how did I become responsible for it?”

She hadn’t even realized she’d been poking his chest, punctuating each word with a jab of her index finger, until Zeke wrapped a fist around the digit. “You’re playing with fire, sweet pea,” he warned quietly, but Hope was tired of his dire threats.

“What are you going to do, Zeke? Huh? Be careful. It’s a long fall from the horse you’re riding.”

“What the hell does that mean?” he growled.

Hope tried to tug her finger free, but Zeke only tightened his grip. With her other hand, she pushed at his chest as all rational thought flew from her mind. “How would Kash react if he discovered you wanted to fuck his mate? That you had tried to get her into your bed? Would he just let that slide, Zeke?”

Surprised lined Zeke’s face for a split second before he hid it behind the cold mask he always wore for her. “I didn’t know you were so interested in who I fucked, princess. All you had to do was ask.”

Zeke released her finger as he curled his other arm around her waist. He dragged her to him, and Hope found herself plastered against his chest. She struggled to gain her freedom, but he threaded his fingers through her hair and gripped the back of her head. His mouth descended to hers, and he nipped her bottom lip, drawing a gasp from her that he took complete advantage of. His tongue invaded her mouth, deep and demanding, drawing the air from her lungs into his.

He took her over completely, bending her backward over his arm, his large, muscled frame encasing her in his steel grip. Hope had never felt so consumed, and like a wildfire, desire shot through her. He ate her mewling cry as she wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him for dear life. She wanted to burrow into his chest, climb inside him, where she would always feel warm and safe.

She murmured a protest when Zeke ripped his lips from hers and pushed her from his arms. As he stared down at her for one stunned moment, the fire consuming his green gaze singed her. Then, to her complete disbelief, he turned away from her.

“Tell Kash I’ll be waiting in the car,” he called over his shoulder as he strode from the room.

“Bastard!” she cried after him, the pain lancing through her, tears burning in her eyes. Why did he have to touch her? To give her a taste of nirvana only to yank it away? It had been better before, when she thought she’d never know how perfect his arms would feel, how overwhelming his kiss would be.

The slamming of the front door was the final straw, and the precarious house of cards Hope had been trying desperately to keep from toppling came crashing down around her. She wished she could just hate him.

After shoving a dagger into her boot, Hope slipped out the back door. She wasn’t about to stay around for an encore in case Zeke decided he hadn’t caused enough damage. She was in need of a stiff drink, and the bar on the corner was as good a place as any to forget he existed.

* * *

Kash had immediately gone for the small velvet pouch Charity had kept hidden under some clothing in the back of a drawer. Since it had been one of the few personal items she had, he figured if she had truly left, she would have taken that.

And sure enough, it was gone.

Retracing his steps toward the front door, he saw no sign of Hope or Zeke. He called out to Hope, wondering where she might be, and was surprised when he received no response. Outside he found Zeke sitting behind the wheel of his Charger.

The expression on his face alone told Kash that asking about Hope could be potentially life threatening. Something was going to have to be done about the two of them, and soon, before they drew a wedge among the Grigori, because Kash had about reached his limit. If Zeke didn’t check his attitude toward Hope, they were going to go a few rounds.

“Ready to face the lion’s den?” Zeke growled as he started up the car’s engine.

Zeke’s question brought his own problems clearly back into focus. “Yeah,” Kash said, eager to find his mate and resolve the misunderstanding between them. She should be home with him, where she belonged. Not out roaming God only knew where. And anyway, this Prue couldn’t be that bad, could she?

* * *

Prue wasn’t happy Faith had picked this night of all nights not to come to the club, because no Faith meant no Bale. Or any of his bastard brothers. And if she couldn’t take her anger out on the asshole who’d ripped out Charity’s heart, she was more than willing to let one of the others pass it on. Uncooperative dickheads.

Ever since Tempy had called and told her Charity had finally shown up only to head out of town, Prue had been a bundle of excess energy. She knew there was more to it than that, could hear it in Tempy’s voice. But her roommate had refused to answer her demands. And she had demanded—quite loudly.

She slapped the rag on top of the wooden surface, cursing under her breath. A ripple moved through the crowd surrounding the bar, and vibrations of unease from the humans around her had Prue scanning the room. Then, as if in answer to her prayer, the crowd parted, and a bald head connected to an excessively large body emerged. She smiled evilly. While Zeke frightened the shit out of most people, neither he nor any of Bale’s brothers gave Prue much pause. She had seen scarier things in her lifetime than a bunch of feline shifters.