Savage Betrayal: Savage, Book 2 (9 page)

Darrius didn’t miss the way his alpha’s voice had lost its lightness, but now took on an edge. A warning that reiterated it would be a bad idea to get involved with Grace.

Maybe Larson was right. Maybe if he spent the night with another woman, it’d ease up on this sudden need for Grace. Right now he felt like a shaken bottle of soda with the cap still on.

Darrius glanced back at the table of girls, and sure enough the blonde was watching him with extra interest. She was his usual type. Why was he even hesitating? Any other time he would’ve been brushing up on his seduction skills in a heartbeat.

You’ve got this.
He forced himself to give her a slow smile and waited.

She giggled, whispered something to her friends, and then stood up to make her way over to him.

“You know, Larson,” Darrius muttered, feeling more confident by the moment, “I think you might just be on to something.”

Chapter Seven

Grace stared out the kitchen window into the evening darkness, replaying all aspects of her day. It took the whistling of the kettle to jerk her back to the present.

She moved away from the counter she had been leaning against and plucked the kettle from the hot stove.

Her first day back had been both cathartic and a complete nightmare.

It had felt so good to be back into her normal routine. To be with her team and feel their love and support—whether she deserved it or not. They’d invited her for drinks after work, something pretty common in the past. But she’d turned them down.

She’d already planned to go see Jocelyn, but if she let herself admit it, she also wasn’t quite ready to face sitting across from any of the guys in a social setting. She wasn’t ready to shoot the shit or get back to normal. Did she even know what the hell normal was anymore?

Stifling a yawn, she already envisioned the evening ahead of her. A book, a blanket and the couch. Perfect.

She loaded her tea ball with leaves and set it steeping in a mug of hot water before making her way to the bathroom.

Grace angled her body so she could lift her T-shirt and see her back in the mirror. The pale skin was unmarred. After Hilliard had tackled her out of the way of harm, pushing her against the car, she’d had a dark bruise running up her spine.

Nodding, she allowed her shirt to fall back into place. That was another perk of being a shifter. Her body healed fast. So fast that scars were a rarity. Though some injuries took longer than others to heal.

She flinched as she almost felt the sting of a whip against her back. Some images from her captivity during the experiments were easily remembered, some not quite as much. Which she realized she should probably be thankful for.

As she left the bathroom, she froze, hearing the sound of the front door handle turning.

Even knowing the only person who could easily get on her property and into her house, she still braced to fight. The tension didn’t ease until her sister stepped inside a moment later.

“Oh, so you
are
here.” Aubree smiled tentatively and closed the door behind her. “I called several times, but there was no answer.”

No, there wouldn’t have been, because she’d been avoiding all phone calls since this afternoon. Guilt pricked lightly, because she knew better than to cut her sister off that way—unintentional though it may have been.

“I’m sorry, I put my phone on vibrate and it’s been in the bottom of my purse.”

Aubree crossed the room to hang up her coat. Her slight limp was as much a part of who she was as the blue eyes they’d both inherited from their mother and the chestnut brown hair they attributed to their dad.

The limp had never slowed Bree down in life, though. Really, how could it when it was nearly all she’d even known?

The same tragic accident that had killed their parents had left Aubree with a horrifically broken leg that even with shifter genes had never healed right.

Since toddlerhood, Aubree had always walked with the limp, and she’d never been able to shift without substantial, debilitating pain.

Grace’s heart broke a little every time she thought of her sister trying to shift as a child. How her body would begin to morph, but because her bones had healed abnormally, her body was never quite able to make the transition to her wolf side without a trip to the shifter hospital afterward.

Over the years Aubree had become better at restraining the shapeshifter side of her, so she rarely went into the shifting process. She had never known the freedom of being in wolf form, or probably couldn’t remember the few times she had during toddlerhood.

Aubree would never know the earth intimately, or become one with it in the way a shapeshifter did. Often Grace wondered if her sister felt trapped, depressed by being held prisoner by her body. Only Aubree never seemed to be burdened by her disability, instead seemed to be eternally optimistic about life, though maybe a bit shy and withdrawn.

Just as she was right now. After hanging her coat, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and moved to embrace Grace.

“I’ve missed you. How was your first day back at work?”

“It went all right.” Grace ignored the second flare of guilt.

Aubree didn’t know why Grace had taken so much time off. In fact, as far as she was aware, her sister didn’t even know anything about the experiments or Grace having been a subject for them. If Grace had it her way, she’d never know.

“And I’ve missed you too.” Grace pulled back to look her sister over. “I swear you’re getting skinnier, Bree. You’re a teenager, aren’t you supposed to be eating anything that’s not nailed down?”

Her sister’s smile faltered and her gaze slipped away. “I’m not very hungry lately. And, besides, I’m pretty sure I’ve stopped growing and am about as tall as I’m going to get. Five four. That’s not bad, right? And in like five months I’ll legally be an adult.”

Grace winced. “That soon, huh? Time is flying.”

“Not fast enough.” Bree stepped away and moved to the kitchen. “I look forward to being independent and not having to answer to anyone.”

Grace, who’d begun to follow her, nodded. Valid point. Actually, pretty damn valid.

“Well, you know my offer stands. The minute you hit eighteen you’re welcome to move in here. It’d mean switching schools—”

“I’d do it in a heartbeat.” Bree grabbed an orange off the counter and stabbed a fingernail into the thick rind to peel the fruit.

Grace pulled out a chair and sat down. It would be so much easier with Aubree under
her
roof and not stuck in some private shifter boarding school their aunt had enrolled her in.

There was no love lost between Grace and her aunt. They’d always had a toxic relationship, and Grace had left the moment she’d turned eighteen. And she’d felt the guilt of leaving Aubree behind every day since.

“I wish I could move in now.”

Grace’s heart ached at the way her sister’s voice cracked, but she forced a gentle smile. Was this what her sister had wanted to talk about when she’d come over Saturday morning?

“We’ve tried that. Unfortunately, the courts won’t allow it, remember?”

“Don’t remind me. They think
she’s
more suitable and prepared to take care of my disability.” Aubree popped a piece of orange into her mouth and chewed slowly. She swallowed a moment later. “
Disability.
I’m not an invalid—I can take care of myself just fine. Maybe one leg is a bit of a mess, but the other is great.”

She hated defending their aunt, but she tried to do so for her sister’s behalf. “Still, there’s always the possibility of help from a specialist, and you’re under her insurance.”

“Of course she’s taken me to specialists, but none of them can quote unquote
fix me
.” Aubree gave a soft sigh and finished the rest of her orange.

“Oh, Bree, you’re perfect. Don’t worry about it.” Damn, this conversation was just bringing them down. Maybe it was time to change the subject. “So, hey, I wish you would’ve stuck around Saturday morning. You left in such a rush, and I thought you were going to help me blow some glass.”

“Oh, I really wanted to. I love making those pretty flowers.” Aubree leaned back in her chair and gave Grace an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry I left without saying anything. I figured you might have wanted a bit of time alone with your friend.”

Hilliard. Just the mention of him took her off guard. Grace thought about this afternoon and that heated moment when he’d pinned her to the car.

What had happened there? Some kind of adrenaline rush from nearly getting killed? Wanting to jump the first person of the opposite sex you saw? She was usually a pretty logical person, but she was hesitant to admit she might be attracted to Agent Hilliard.

“You work with him, right?” Aubree quirked a brow. “He’s one of your super badass agent friends?”

Grace laughed softly. “Super badass? Nice. Don’t let him hear you call him that or it’ll inflate his ego even further.”

“One of those guys, huh?”

“Yeah. Popular with the ladies.” A little too popular. Which was another reason it would be a bad idea to get involved with him. “What about you, Bree? Any boys out there catch your attention lately?”

Aubree’s smile faded and for a moment she looked almost sick. “No. Not at all. Guys pretty much suck, and I really don’t have time to date anyway.”

Whoa. Something had happened there. Usually her sister was all too eager to talk about her life. Social, love, all aspects really.

“All right, you can’t drop the ‘guys suck’ bomb without elaborating. What’s going on, Bree?”

Aubree bit her lip and kept her gaze on the tabletop. For a moment she looked as if she might respond. A solid knock on the door stopped her, and she shook her head.

“It’s nothing. You should probably get that.”

Wanting to probe further, but equally concerned by who could possibly be at her door, Grace finally relented and went to check who was outside.

Speak of the devil earlier and he appears…
Hilliard stood outside, hands thrust into his pockets as he scanned the property behind him.

Again? He’d shown up at her house
again
? Really?

She opened the door and shook her head. “Showing up unexpectedly at my house has become a habit of yours, Hilliard.”

He turned to face her again and gave a diluted version of his usual charming grin. “Probably, but hey, I knocked this time.”

“Mmm. I suppose I can give you brownie points for that.” She stepped back and gestured for him to come inside.

“Those little alarms and traps you’ve got set up must’ve taken you forever. Is there a code to deactivate that stuff or something?”

“Yes. I have it.” Aubree stood up, her gaze bright as she looked him over. “But then I’m family. Hi there, I’m Aubree. I’ve heard a lot about you since Grace became an agent. It’s so weird you’d show up now. Were your ears burning?”

“My ears?” Hilliard’s pensive gaze slid between Grace and her sister.

Oh this was just too damn awkward. Grace let out a slow breath and gave a
who knows
shrug, hoping Aubree would drop it.

“We were talking about you,” Aubree continued cheerfully.

And so much for dropping it.

“Were you now?” Hilliard slid his attention back to Grace. His gaze was entirely too knowing and thorough. She curled her fingers into fists and willed herself not to squirm. Heat had begun curling through her and her cheeks felt suddenly warm.

What the hell was this? Hot flashes? She was way too young for this crap.

Finally, as if Hilliard could sense the sensory turbulence inside her, he seemed to take pity and looked back at her sister.

“It’s nice to meet you, Aubree.” He reached out and caught her hand, kissing her knuckles. “You are just as pretty as your sister.”

There he went, turning on the charm for another female. She knew his flirting was harmless. Still, when her sister let out what sounded like a giggle, Grace resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

“Well, aren’t you too sweet?” Aubree pulled her hand away and grabbed her backpack from the floor. “I’m going to leave you guys alone and get some studying done. Grace, do you mind if I take over the back room for a while?”

“Not at all.” Grace waved her away and watched her sister leave the room. A moment later she heard the door to the back room close. It wasn’t loud, but the sound was an ominous reminder that she was left alone with Hilliard.

Even without looking at him, she was aware of him next to her, leaning against the counter, arms folded across his chest. She could feel his gaze on her as her nostrils flared to take in the faint scent of cologne or aftershave—something. Whatever it was, he smelled good. And it irked her to realize she’d noticed.

The silence swelled, and she knew she’d have to break it before she went a little nutty. Would have to ask why he’d come here in the first—

“So you have a little sister.” He spoke before she did.

She cracked a small smile. “Happens sometimes. You know, parents really get into that family bit and keep popping them out.”

“Any other siblings?”

“No. It’s just Aubree and me.”