Charity Received (32 page)

Lia looked at her sharply, and for just a split second, Charity thought something appeared odd about the gaze peering back at her. Blinking, she then refocused, finding nothing but intense turquoise eyes. Christ, she was more stressed over this warlock shit than she’d thought.

“Kash is an unusual name,” Lia murmured. “Interestingly, one of the characters in a novel I’m reading bears that name.”

Charity tried not to roll her eyes at a reference that could only be Hope’s newest book. In it, she had introduced several of the Grigori. While Kash was the only one whose real named she had actually used, the resemblances drawn in the graphic story were by far too accurate.

“That’s odd. Is the story any good?”

Lia shrugged. “Like I said, it’s a graphic novel. Not rocket science.” She gave Charity a sardonic smile. “I mean, come on. Demon-hunting shifter packs? No offense, but shifters are only ever concerned about themselves. And if there were that many demons lurking around, you’d think the humans would notice.”

“You’d be surprised,” Charity mumbled under her breath. Then she realized she’d just been insulted and laughed, because Lia was right. Shifters were, for the most part, paranoid and reclusive. “Know a few shifters, do you?”

Lia smiled sheepishly. “Over the years.” She scooped up the freshly cut limes and placed them on a tray before turning to wash her hands. “If it really is a warlock, it can’t hurt to have a witch around.” Lia glanced up from the sink and peered over Charity’s shoulder. “Your mate is heading this way, looking rather put out.” Then she lowered her eyes back to her task.

And sure enough, Kash was stalking toward the bar, Jet at his side. She exhaled, praying for patience, because she had a strong suspicion she wasn’t going to like whatever he had to say.

“Charity, we’re going home.”

Charity immediately rounded the bar and stepped into her mate’s arms. The bond compelled her to soothe him, and after wrapping her hands around his neck, she caressed his skin with her thumbs. As she brushed over the mating mark, Kash sucked in a deep breath, a shudder racing down his spine. Then, with a shaky exhale, he dropped his forehead to rest against hers.

“It will be all right. Every possible precaution has been taken. And we have a witch behind the bar to counteract any magic he might use.” Charity leaned back to meet her mate’s frightened gaze. “Kash, we don’t even know for certain he’ll make an appearance.”

“Oh, he’ll show,” Jet drawled.

Charity turned a questioning look on Jet to find him eyeing the back of the bar. And when she turned back again, standing in the doorway leading to the back entrance, she found Hope.

“What is she doing here?” Charity asked quietly, Hope being the last person she wanted to see tonight of all nights. Though still upset with Hope, she didn’t want the other female getting mixed up in the crap that could go down if Raym did show up. As impulsive as Hope could sometimes be, she could just see Hope rushing to the rescue, only to end up hurt herself. Or dead.

She shot an accusing glare at Kash but saw he was as confused as she was. Then she directed all her ire at Jet.

“Don’t rail on me, wolfie. It was your buddy Zeke’s idea.”

Charity growled softly, showing her canines, but Jet only snorted in response.

Kash sighed, tightening her in his embrace. “Zeke seems to believe Hope will be the catalyst in drawing the bastard out.”

Remembering that all this centered on mates, Charity latched on to the belief that Hope was Zeke’s. Was Zeke finally ready to admit what everyone else already believed?

“Sasquatch,” came the amused drawl from behind her. Charity hadn’t realized he had been close enough to hear their conversation. “Now, you know Hope can’t keep anything to herself. She’s like a walking bulletin board.”

Though Charity didn’t quite agree with Zeke, she wasn’t in the mood to get into it with him over Hope. Once she no longer felt like slapping the other female silly, she and Zeke would have words. But until then… “And this has to do with the warlock how?”

“My bet is Hope told someone about tonight. The paranormal community in Seattle isn’t that big. If he’s going to come after you, he knows he might never get another chance. Didn’t you know? Tonight is your last night working at Club Dominus.”

Charity furrowed her brow as Zeke’s words sank in. “But—”

“We might never get another chance,” Zeke’s interrupted quietly.

“Who’s going to keep an eye on Hope?”

Something flickered in Zeke’s green depths. It was almost as if he hadn’t considered that Raym might target Hope. “Don’t you worry about Hope, Sasquatch. I’ve got her covered.”

Charity nodded, hoping Zeke knew what he was doing, but she didn’t have time to worry about Hope any longer, as Lia called out to her. There was too much to do to get ready before the club opened. And then there was Kash. She had a full plate just dealing with the emotions radiating from him. Charity feared it was going to be a really long night.

* * *

Club Dominus was filled to the brim, but as the night progressed, neither Raym nor the warlock seemed inclined to turn up. Lia had run out of Bacardi, and since all her tables were freshly serviced, Charity offered to go to the storeroom and retrieve a bottle. Jet followed her as far as the bathroom. There, Levi picked up her trail. It had been going fairly smoothly, the way the brothers worked together to keep her safe, and they didn’t annoy her nearly as much as she’d thought they would.

She grinned at Levi as she slid past him, bottle in hand, but faltered when she turned and found Hope in the doorway. Having too much on her mind to deal with Hope, she attempted to sidestep the other female.

Hope grabbed her arm but immediately let go at Charity’s low growl. Casting a wary look at Levi, Hope once again blocked her exit.

“Hope, now is not a good time.”

“Chari, will you just hear me out?” Hope’s voice was filled with exasperation.

She wanted to give Hope a chance to explain, to find out why her friend would treat her so poorly. But first there was one thing she had to know. It could explain everything. “Are you in love with Kash?” she blurted out.

A sickly cast spread over Hope’s face as she began to choke and sputter. Charity’s question had apparently flustered her, and though she never would have believed it if she hadn’t seen the evidence with her own eyes, Charity figured she had her answer. With great sadness, she knew she couldn’t continue a friendship with another female who wanted her mate. And how could she handle it if Kash wanted to maintain contact with Hope?

“God no,” Hope finally spit out. “Is that what you think?”

For a moment, Charity studied the female who had been her roommate…her friend.

Finally she turned to Levi. “Can you give us a minute?” Levi spoke her name, his tone one of warning, but she only shook her head. She didn’t need him standing there watching her and Hope. What they had to say to each other was private. “Just outside the door, Levi. I won’t be able to escape. I promise.”

A slight smile graced Levi’s lips before he nodded. “Just outside. That’s all the privacy I can give you.”

Charity snorted. “I haven’t known privacy since Kash and I mated.” His chuckle followed him out the door, causing her to grin. It fell away when she looked at Hope.

“Well?”

“Look, I’m sorry for getting involved in this, but you’ve got to understand, when I overheard you and Prue in the bathroom at Club Dominus, I knew the baby couldn’t be Kash’s because of ‘the curse.’” Hope made quotation signs with her fingers, and Charity almost smiled.

“But this baby is Kash’s,” she responded quietly.

“And again, I’m sorry. But at the time, I thought I was protecting Kash. I didn’t want to see him hurt.”

“And that’s the only reason? You were protecting Kash?”

Hope must have caught the slight disbelief in Charity’s voice, because she sighed.

“Chari, Kash is my best friend, so yeah, maybe a part of me was jealous that you’d taken so much of his time. But I was happy for him. Happy for the both of you. Even after I overheard Zeke talking to Arak.”

Charity cocked her head. Hope’s last statement was spoken so softly, she’d barely caught it, and frankly, it confused her. She was a shifter, and by the very nature of her species, was a one-male female. If Kash were to perish, she would follow him into the abyss. What the hell it had to do with Zeke, she couldn’t fathom.

“Zeke has always reacted to me like water on a grease fire. But with you, he’s different.” Hope’s gaze was focused on the floor, and even with her excellent hearing, Charity strained to hear her words. “He cares about you.”

She found herself responding to Hope’s obvious pain, her stance softening. “Okay.

What does that have to do with Arak, Hope?”

“Zeke told Arak he invited you to his bed.”

Charity suddenly grew uncomfortable. While she would have preferred no one know about that conversation with Zeke, she was especially distressed that Hope did.

Even as upset as she’d been with her ex-roommate, she never would have hurt her in such a way. “Hope, it was nothing more than an offer for a pity fuck.”

“Pity is the last thing I heard in Zeke’s tone,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

“You’re in love with him.” Charity had known Hope cared for Zeke, but until that moment, she hadn’t realized just how deeply. She was going to deck Zeke the next time she saw him. The big, dumb bastard.

Hope glanced away, blinking rapidly to clear away the tears. “It doesn’t matter,” she said sadly. “He will never feel for me an ounce of what he does for you.” For a moment Charity questioned Hope’s sanity. Was she that obtuse that she didn’t know Zeke had feelings for her? Charity reached for her, but Hope moved away, turning her back on Charity. “He’s not mine. Enough time has passed that if I were his mate, he would have acknowledged me by now. For Kash and Bale, the need to claim you and Faith was almost immediate.”

“I think you’re wrong.”

“Don’t, Charity. I can’t hope anymore. It just hurts too damn much.” With a sigh of frustration, Hope turned back to face her. “This is pointless, anyway. I might have been a little jealous, but that wasn’t why I told Kash about your pregnancy, and I don’t want to lose his friendship because you’re mad at me.”

“I won’t lie to you, Hope. I was mad. It was easier to blame you. I couldn’t understand why you would do that to me. You were supposed to be my friend. That hurt. But you certainly weren’t the only one that night who believed I’d been unfaithful.” Guilt flooded Hope’s expression, and Charity reached out to take hold of her hand. “I can’t fault you for wanting to protect Kash. I probably would have done exactly the same thing if our positions had been reversed.”

Hope nodded as she looked down at Charity’s abdomen. “Can I touch?”

Charity grasped Hope’s outstretched hand and placed it over the bump that protected her child. A fluttering movement had Hope squealing in delight, her wide-eyed stare glued to Charity’s belly.

Levi took that moment to interrupt them. “Charity, you need to get back. Kash is starting to get antsy.”

Sighing, Charity pulled back from Hope. She could feel her mate’s concern growing because she’d been out of his sight for too long.

“Are we good?” Hope asked, dropping her hands to her side.

“Yeah. We’re good.”

Hope seemed relieved, smiling as she stepped back to allow Charity access to the hallway.

Levi fell in step beside her. “You’re right, you know. He won’t know what hit him.”

Glancing at the male to her right, it took Charity a moment before she guessed at the meaning behind Levi’s cryptic words. He could only be referring to Zeke. She should have been annoyed that he’d been listening to her conversation with Hope, but instead was intrigued by his statement. “Really?”

Levi nodded, slipping his hands into the pockets of his black Armani trousers.

Charity would have loved to have questioned him more about what he knew concerning Hope and Zeke, but she didn’t get the chance. Levi followed her as far as the entrance to the club, then, acting as if he didn’t know her, headed to the opposite side, letting Jet once again take over her protection. As Charity moved through the crowd, she could feel Kash watching her, which filled her with a sense of peace. But as she stepped up to the bar and handed Lia the bottle of Bacardi, that bubble burst.

There, standing at the end of the wooden structure, was a male she’d seen before—

the warlock.

Charity immediately stiffened, unconsciously screaming at Kash through the link they shared. The warlock, as if sensing her stare, turned, and their eyes met. A seductive smile took over his face. Leisurely his gaze traveled the expanse of her body, and she watched confusion then disbelief filter into the dark eyes that settled on her stomach. His lips began to move, a stream of words Charity couldn’t quite catch tumbling forth, as his gaze latched back on to hers.

“Come to me, chérie.”

Kash’s demand had little effect. It was almost as if she was captured within the warlock’s hypnotic trap. Deep within, she sensed Kash’s brothers moving to intercept him while her mate focused all his energy on prying her from the warlock’s grip.

“Charity, move your ass!”

Triumph. The emotion rolled off the warlock as his smile deepened. Then, spying the extremely large males barreling toward him, a look of alarm took over his face, and his lips picked up speed.

She could feel it, the spell the warlock was casting as it tried to push its way inside her psyche. Her wolf struggled against the command he was trying to place over them. He was forcing her out to do his bidding. Panic, sharp and pungent, threatened to consume Charity. Kash’s arm banding about her seemed to ground her, but it was his roughly whispered words in her ear that took away her fear.

“You will not shift, Charity. Do you hear me? I will not allow it.”

As her wolf rolled belly up, it dawned on Charity that at some point, Kash had taken the alpha role in their relationship. Her wolf responded to his command, receding into the background, still hovering on the fringes but no longer fighting against the warlock’s spell. He held no power over her.