FireStarter (2 page)

Chapter Two

Marshall

I paced around the room
unable to keep still. Penny was missing. She had been since that last fire, but
no body had been found in the clean up. I hoped like hell she was okay. My
jaguar was pushing hard for me to shift so he could go searching, but it was
daylight and the last thing I needed was bloody animal control after me on top
of everything else.

"What has you pacing
like you've lost a winning lotto ticket?"

I turned to face my
brother. Clayton was completely opposite in looks to me. He looked like a
bloody surfer with his messy blond hair, tanned skin, and blue eyes, where I had
short dark hair and brown eyes. Our cats were also opposite, with me being a
spotted golden jaguar while Clay was a jet black one.

Despite the fact we weren't
blood brothers, we'd bonded as though we were from the moment he came to live
with us at the age of three. I'd been adopted four years before Clay arrived
and was two years older than he was. According to our adoptive mother, I'd
taken an instant liking to Clayton and protected him from everything. He'd
needed it back then. Shape shifte
rs
were no different from humans. There was good and bad
among us. Like me, Clay had lucked out in the birth parent lottery. Clay’s had
preferred drugs to food and had considered their son a punching bag. Even
though I'd only been five at the time, I still remembered how he'd looked when
Mum first brought him home. Two black eyes, a busted lip and his leg in a cast.
Fortunately with his shifter genes, he healed fast, and naturally, I'd done all
I could to make sure that was the last time he ever got hurt. What big brother
wouldn't?

"Penny's been missing
for three days. I'm worried about her."

I frowned when Clayton's
body tensed and his gaze shifted away from me. My instincts screamed that he
knew something.

"Didn't she lose her
family last summer? Maybe she's just taken off to get away from all the
memories. Or you know, something like that."

Color spread up his neck
and over his face. But even without that tell, I knew he was lying. Like
everyone in this damn town, Clay knew full well her parents had died in that
fire. He was trying to deflect.

"Tell me what you
know, Clayton. Right. Fucking. Now."

He jumped to his feet.
"Who says I know anything?"

I stepped toward him until
the tips of our shoes touched. "I know you better than anyone, and I can
tell when you're hiding something. Spit it out. You know how I feel about that
girl."

He also knew that I’d only
stayed away from her because I wasn't good enough for her. I couldn’t risk
turning out like my father and hurting her. She was everything good in the
world, and I refused to drag her down out of the light into the dark where I
lived.

I braced myself when
Clayton's shoulders bunched. Would he seriously take a swing at me? What the
hell was he hiding? It had to be big.

Clayton clenched and
released his fists before he spun and stormed across the room and out the front
door. Riled with anger, I strode after him, refusing to let him leave before I
got an answer. Rounding the corner I froze as the blood drained from my face.
Clayton was in the process of lifting the garage door, and I could clearly see
Penny's old Ford parked next to my brother's car.

"What the fuck have
you done?"

My words were a low growl,
but I knew he heard me. He slammed the door back down and turned on me, fury in
his gaze.

"I did what I had to.
Nothing more. She left me no fucking choice."

My blood ran cold. Surely
he wouldn't have hurt her? Sure, Clayton had some issues from the abuse he'd
suffered. Like me, there was a darkness inside him and I knew exactly how it
felt when it fought for some air time, but I refused to believe that Clay could
take a woman's life. Or physically injure her.

"Tell me she's
alive."

He jerked then nodded,
frowning my way. "Of course she's alive."

"And you know where
she is, don't you?"

"Yep. The exact
location."

I marched up to him and
wrapped my fist in his shirt. Lifting him, I slammed him against the metal door
before I realized what I was doing. A mix of relief and desperation had a rush
of adrenaline flooding my system and clouding my mind.

"Where the fuck is
she?"

Clayton's eyes widened, and
shock buzzed through me. I'd just manhandled my brother! The one I'd sworn to
always protect and never harm. I dropped him to the ground and staggered away,
shaking my head, trying to clear my thoughts as the dent in the garage door
filled my vision.

"She means that much
that you'd come at me like that? A woman you've never even been with?"

"Just because I’ve
never claimed her, doesn’t change the fact she’s my mate."

Clay’s sharp inhale was the
only sound as I had to admit to myself how much Penny’s wellbeing mattered to
me. I’d worked out long ago she was my destined mate, but I stayed away. Fought
any attraction I had for her. I’d figured as long as we didn’t get too close, I
wouldn’t have the possessive feelings that came with mating. Clearly, I was
wrong.

I’d first seen her back in
high school, and even then I'd known I had a darkness within me that could
potentially damage the light that clearly shone from within Penny. Even as
she’d struggled through the loss of her parents, her light hadn't dimmed. Sure,
she looked sadder now and she spent all her time chasing
firestarters
,
but her heart was still pure in a way that pulled me in as much as it keep me
away. That got me thinking. Was that what had happened here? Was this all about
a fire? Had Clay lit one?

I cut the thoughts off.
Before I could deal with any of that, I needed to see her. Touch her and make
sure she was indeed whole and safe.

"Just take me to her,
Clay. Can you do that much for me?"

He gave me a measured nod
before he carefully headed back toward the house. What the hell? She was in his
home somewhere? I bit my tongue to stop myself saying something that would stop
Clay from taking me to her. I seriously hoped she was all right, because I
wasn't entirely sure what I would do to my beloved brother if she wasn't.
Apparently, whether you claim your mate or not, she becomes your number one
priority and the center of your entire world.

When we stood at the top of
the stairs in front of a locked door my hands ached from how hard I was
clenching them. I couldn't stay quiet.

"You've had her locked
up here for three days? Please tell me you've at least been feeding her?"

Clayton turned on me with a
frown. "Of course I have. I knew she was the one you fancied back in
school, didn’t know for sure she was your mate, but still I was pretty sure
you'd have my balls if I didn't look after her. And in case you don't remember,
this room has a small attached bathroom, too."

"You coming in with
me?"

He stood taller and glared
at me. "What? You worried I'll lock you in with her?"

"I have no idea what
you'll do, considering I never thought you'd kidnap a woman. Why'd you take
her?"

"You want to get into
that right this second? I thought you wanted to see her urgently?"

I growled and forced my
hands to stay by my sides. Knocking him out at this point would not be helpful.
Even if it would make me feel better.

"Just open the damn
door already."

He reached forward and slid
the bolt across. The lock looked new and recently installed, or at least I
hoped that was the case and Clay didn't routinely kidnap women. The door opened
an inch, and Clay stepped away.

"After you."

Unsure of what I was going
to find, I slowly opened the door on the dimly lit room. The curtains were
drawn over the window, but the sun was bright enough to still penetrate the
fabric. As I inhaled deeply of her sweet scent, I scanned the room searching
for her, my heart speeding up with each moment I couldn't see her. Then she was
all I could see.

Penny was curled up in the
far corner of the room. Her arms wrapped around her legs as she tried to push
herself into the wall. Her blonde hair was in a hell of a mess around her
beautiful face, hiding her eyes and she had black ash streaked over her skin
and clothes.

"I thought when you reminded
me of the bathroom up here that you'd left it unlocked for her to use."

"I did. She's chosen
to not use it. Apparently I can't be trusted. And before you lay into me for
all the takeout rubbish, she refuses to eat anything not store bought."

With a sigh I stepped
towards her. Clay was hopeless, and he was so in the dog house. But I'd deal
with him later.

"Penny? Baby?"

****

Penny

Letting my tangled hair
cover my face, I peeked up at the man closing in on me. When he'd spoken he'd
kind of sounded like Marshall, Clayton's adopted brother and my other high
school crush. But if Marshall was here, then he was in on his brother's
bullshit. I couldn't allow my past infatuation with him cloud my focus. My
heart rate kicked up when I saw the door remained open behind him. This was my
chance. Possibly the only one I’d get.

Hoping Clayton wasn't
paying too close attention, I held myself still as might-be-Marshall stepped
closer. A small groan escaped me and my stomach dropped when I saw it was
indeed Marshall. Along with Clayton, I'd crushed on Marshall hard in high
school, so it seemed cruel for them both to be involved with all this now.
Mentally shaking those thoughts away, I focused on what was important. Inhaling
deep, I jerked up and sprinted toward the door with every ounce of strength I
could muster.

The breath rushed out of me
when I came to an unexpected halt. Ignoring how my body reacted to how good
Marshall felt against me, I dug my nails into the arm that he’d wrapped around
my waist while I squirmed to break free. The door slamming made me flinch, and
before I could plan my next move I found my back pressed against the wall.
Screaming, I tried to kick and punch at Marshall, anything that would get me
free of his hold. He pressed his body over mine, his thigh stopping any further
kicking. He gripped my fists and held them over my head against the wall in
seconds. He lowered his nose in close to my neck and inhaled against my skin,
causing goosebumps to rise.

Somehow, I seemed to be
completely in tune with him, and my entire being was aware of every inch of
him, which had fear spiking through me. Was Marshall a shape shifter, too? Were
they both casting some kind of shifter magic over me to make me want them
sexually? Desperately, I tried to buck him off me. Anything to get free. To get
away from his touch that I suddenly craved, but knew I shouldn’t want.

"Calm down, Penny. I
can't think straight when you're carrying on like this."

I stilled as rage filled
me, over taking all the other emotions that had been mixing in my mind. When he
raised his face I glared straight into his gaze.

"Carrying on? You
think I'm carrying on! I was fucking kidnapped. I busted your dumbass brother
lighting a damn bushfire, and he—he turned into a damn
cat
then kidnapped me! I'm pretty sure my reaction is completely
justified. Now, let me go!"

His body tensed and without
loosening his hold on my wrists, he turned toward his brother. I twisted my
neck to see Clayton leaning against the door, arms folded over his wide chest
as he watched us with an intense focus. What was his deal?

"Got anything to tell
me, Clay?"

He scrubbed a palm over his
jaw. “As I’ve tried to explain to her, I didn’t—”

“
Bullshit!” I strained
against Marshall’s hold wanting to go lay into Clayton. “I saw you!”

“
You saw me do what, Penny?
Did I have a lighter? Or anything else with me?”

“
No, but you were at the
ignition site. I must have caught you trying to destroy evidence. How could you
light wildfires on purpose like that?”

I couldn't stop my whimper
or the shudder that ran through me. Flashes of memory of my burned out family
home filled my mind, along with ones from their funeral. If Clayton had been
the one to light that particular fire, I would kill him. I didn't know how I
would manage such a feat, but I'd do it. Somehow, I'd find a way, even if I
ended up taking myself out with him.

"Please tell me you
didn't light the fire that wiped out Red Gum Springs."

The breath froze in my
lungs as I waited for Clayton's response.

"For fuck’s sake!
Neither of you are listening: I’ve never lit a wildfire!"

Rage had my vision turning
red, and any fear I had fled. How stupid did he think I was?

"You liar. Just give
it a rest already. I caught you red fucking handed! How—"

A shudder ran through me
when Marshall covered my lips with his. My brain short circuited as sparks
jolted through me. For just a moment I sank into the sensation of how good
Marshall felt against me. I went to cup his face but couldn't move my hands.
The reminder that I was being held down cleared my mind in an instant. I bit
down on his lower lip. Hard enough I tasted the coppery tang of blood as he
jerked away with a growl.