Stalked (Rogues Shifter #2) (10 page)

“What about Sam?’

I shrugged. “I tell him just about everything, but he won’t talk. I promise.”

Her gaze was thoughtful
, trying to judge if I was being honest with her. In the end, she really didn’t have a choice. “Ok, but remember what I said. I’ll kick your ass. I'm used to beating on wolves.“

I tried to look impressed. “I won’t tell anyone, Bridgett.” Something about her reminded me of myself not so long ago.

We walked back to the game and picked up where we'd left off. Ethan was watching me carefully as I got up to bowl, checking to make sure I was ok. I got a strike and Sherrie and Bridgett cheered. I gave Ethan a smirk and sat down. Darren watched my every move like I was a hive full of honey. I’m sure he was enjoying the fact that, thanks to Sinc, I was wearing tight shorts. I saw Frank watching Bridgett with some concern in his eyes. Now, him I liked.

Sherrie was all over Ethan, asking him if he wanted another soda or a slice of pizza. He saw me laughing and tilted his head toward Darre
n who was looking at my breasts.

I frowned. “Darren,
I’m up here.”

Ethan and Frank
cracked up, but Darren just moved his eyes up to mine and smiled, not embarrassed in the least. “Sorry Melanie, but you’re so—”, I waited to hear what he’d say, ”—yummy.” Yep, this bear thought I was some tasty piece of honey cake.

“
I’m not dessert. It’s your turn to bowl. Maybe you should concentrate on that."

He
nodded, smiled and stood up. He got a strike, of course, and the guys cheered. Ethan was being an asshole, laughing at me at every opportunity, so when no one else could see it, I flipped him off. Bridgett was the next one up. This time she actually got a spare so Sherrie and I cheered for her. She cracked a small smile.

The guys won the fir
st game, the girls the second, due to an amazing streak of luck and some mental nudges from me whenever Darren was up. We played a third game. It was close, but the guys won. Bridgett had allowed herself to get better with each game and was throwing a few strikes at the end.

Everyone seemed to have
had a good time and we all parted as new friends.  Darren actually apologized for his middle school behavior and asked me out on a date. I told him that I wanted to take it slow and get to know the town and more of the people before I started to date anyone, so he said he’d ask again after I’d settled in. Even if I’d been unattached, he had about as much chance of me saying yes as Kennet did.

Bridgett waved at me as she drove off in She
rrie’s car. I waved back. I took a few steps, heading back toward where we'd parked the car when my knees wobbled, my legs too weak to support me. I reached out for Ethan’s hand and he quickly put his arm around me.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know.“ He moved with me to a low wall built around the bowling ally parking lot and I sat down on the edge.“I feel kind of drained and nauseous. You go get the car, I’ll be ok sitting here for a few minutes.”

“I’m not leaving you here alone. Liam and Garrett will throw me on the barbeque if I do. We’ll walk together to the car. Or I’ll carry you if I have to.” As Ethan steadied me with his arm around my shoulder,
a cold shiver ran up my spine. I was certain that someone was watching me. As we walked down the sidewalk, I scanned the people on the sidewalk, the building windows and roofs. Nothing looked unusual or out of place.

Still,
there was something familiar about this cold, queasy feeling I was experiencing. Kennet? I wasn’t sure, but couldn’t stop another shiver from wracking my body. Ethan held me a little tighter and picked up the pace. When we reached the car, he helped me into the seat, reached over to buckle my seatbelt, and then covered me with a spare jacket that he’d left on the backseat. Despite the jacket, I shivered as we drove off to the relative safety of our temporary new home.

Chapter Nine

The house
was a small ranch with two bedrooms, a nice kitchen, a large living room/dining room combo and two bathrooms. Ethan had me on the couch with a wet washcloth over my forehead while I talked to Garrett on the phone.

“I’m fine, really. I
just felt suddenly exhausted.” There was no reason to worry him without proof.

“Do you want me there?”

“I do, but we agreed that it wouldn’t be smart for you to come here this early in the evening. Come around midnight and don’t park the Saab in the driveway.”

He laughed. “Okay,
boss.”

“I’m sorry. I
had something really strange happen today.” I told him all about Bridgett and exactly what we’d talked about.

“Another ch
eetah. That’s incredible, and she’s living with wolves? It can’t be easy for her.”

“I’m just worried that she’ll screw me and tell someone.”

“She’s not going to say anything if she doesn’t want
you
to talk. You may be able to help her.”

“Do you think Maya could come out here for a visit tomorrow? I need to talk to her about this.”

“Call her, she doesn’t bite, unless she’s hunting. Oh by the way Elizabeth was here and warded the house. She’s going to Gasquet tomorrow to ward your house there.”

“Thanks.
I love you.”

“Je t’aime
.” His voice grew a little husky. “Je ne peux pas attendre de vous gouter vos levres.”

“What does
that
mean?” I was giggling because it sounded sooo sexy whatever it was.

“I’ll tell you later.”

Ethan was looking at me with an odd expression when I ended the call. “I like the French talk, what can I say? Is Sinc coming tonight?”

“
Yes, around 1:00 AM. She’s picking me up. I’ll be staying at her house every night, since Garrett will be here with you. I’ll be back before dawn each morning.”

I laughed. “School starts in two days.  We’re going to need to sleep occasionally.”

“We’ll figure it out.” His eyes were twinkling mischievously. "I told you that we’d beat you.”

“No, you said that
you’d
beat
me
and if you look at our scores you’ll see that
I
beat
you
.”

He pulled out the score sheet and looked. I beat him by two pins.

“Well, shit, you’re right. Re-match?”

“Maybe.
I’m going to crash for awhile. Thanks, for helping me out today,” I took out my contacts, took a quick shower, dressed in sweatpants and a tee shirt and curled up on the large bed. Ethan had been nice enough to give me the master bedroom with the attached bathroom.

I slept a dreamless sleep and woke up to a familiar scent and the sensation of someone kissing my palm. When his fangs grazed my skin I sighed and opened my eyes.

Garrett was on the bed next to me and I could see exactly how much he was enjoying himself because his eyes were sparkling with silver. He stopped when he saw me smiling at him. “I like you as a red head.” He pushed a stray lock out of my face. "Ethan and Sinc are gone.”

“I didn’t mean to sleep for so long.” I reached up and touched his hair. I loved to feel the silkiness between my fingers. He rubbed his head against my hand so I trailed my fingers down his face and over his mouth so he
could grab them for a nibble. “So what did you say to me on the phone?”

“I love you.” he smiled his most sexy smile, making his eyes crinkle up at the corners.

“After that.” My heart was already pounding.

He leaned over me,
burying his face against my neck. I said,” he whispered, his warm breath tickling my ear. ”Je ne peux pas attendre de vous gouter vos levres. I can’t wait to taste your lips.” He kissed my neck and sighed. “In fact, all of you looks delicious.

I laughed and he gazed
at me curiously. “A high school boy at the Gasquet bowling alley looked at me like I was dessert all afternoon.”

“You are a seven course gourmet meal, my lovely cheetah,“ he said, gently pushing me down on the bed. I tried to raise myself back up to kiss him but he held me down with one h
and on my shoulder. “Patience. Close your eyes and let me have my fun.” His breath caressed my neck with a feathery embrace sending happy shivers down my body. I sighed and let him have his way with me—and of course, it was amazing.

Afterward, I trailed my fingers down his arm to
his hand and twined them around his. “You make me feel beautiful. I never felt that way before. The way you touch me, as if I was the only woman alive.”

He pulled me tightly against him and whispered, “Francois swears that the French invented great sex.”

“Of course he does.” I giggled.

“But it only takes a good imagination and a strong loving
connection with your partner.”

“Uh huh, and the magic helps too.”

He grinned impishly, "And the blood.”

I stroked his hair and looked into his beautiful sapphire eyes. “I want you to know something...”

He waited, probably sensing that this was something serious.

“He said I'd never be able to fall in love or have a normal relationship. I’d rejected
him when he came on to me. He hurt me on purpose so I’d always remember him.” I was surprised by how calmly I could speak about the young man who'd taken my innocence by force. Garrett’s eyes had turned dark, so I shook my head and continued. “He was wrong about everything. I never think about him anymore. Because of you. Because of the way you love me."

I smiled and squeezed his hand, allowing myself to remember our first nights together.“ I think I started to love you that night at Carly’s little cabin, when you trained me to build my wall the first time. I was frightened, but you were so patient. And when I got kind of power drunk you were a perfect gentleman.” I teased him with a fake British accent.

Garrett smiled so warmly. “My Lady,” he teased back. “I loved you before you came to the island. I felt in you a kindred spirit: another cheetah who would one day work the lines, like me. You looked like an angel as you flew down the road: full of anger and courage, and you gave me hope. I’d given up on hope until you opened your heart to me.”

He brushed my newly
red hair back from my face. “Jackie, I should have protected you from your foster brother, and from those men who attacked you. Eleanor sensed my distress, and did everything she could to prevent me from leaving.”

“None of them can hurt us anymore. Everything is perfect now."
I kissed him very gently and we lost ourselves to love once more before drifting off to sleep.

Chapter Ten

The next morning at 11:00 AM
Elizabeth Hooper warded our temporary home. She was a witch, probably around twenty-four, wearing a long print dress, which fit her petite, slim frame perfectly. Her rich brown hair was pulled back and held up in a clawed clip and her deep set hazel eyes were focused on her tasks. I watched her set a circle around the house with salt and chants, then mix herbs, light candles and sing more chants. I didn’t understand anything that she did, but when she finished I actually did feel more protected and definitely more relaxed.  Her aura was a bright blue and she radiated health and positive energy. I thanked her for her help and she left with a smile and a wave of her hand.

When he got up, Ethan ran out and came back in the door around 1:00 PM with containers of food that he’d picked up from Liam. We chose a delicious stew and sat down to eat together, chatting about when we should make another appearance in town. We thought that maybe it would be fun to go into town tonight to see what the nighttime scene was like. Ethan said he’d call Frank to discuss it.

Maya had said no to driving out for a talk, too busy with the hunt for Kennet going on, but agreed to take some phone time to discuss Bridgett. She was another force of nature, only instead of leaving a makeover in her wake she’d take your mind and wring it out, then shake it and hang it on the line to dry. I’d been involved in a couple of tense standoffs with her, but she’d also been instrumental in helping me beat Antoine, so I considered myself in her debt. Although she looked to be around twenty-two, she was at least two hundred years old, sometimes doling out orders with a superior attitude to match her more advanced years. Still, she was a cheetah, the only other one in all of Crescent City, so she was the one I went to for information.

“Tell me what’s up,”

Garrett had let Maya into the loop with info about our investigation to find Brina, which saved me a lot of time. I tucked my legs up under me on the couch and spoke to her about Bridgett. explaining that she was a cheetah with some natural power of her own. I described her aura, the little she’d told me about living with her werewolf father, her intense fear and anger and her attempts not to attract attention to herself.

“How old is she?”

“Seventeen, like me.”

I heard an interested grunt on the line.
“Jackie, you know that cheetah shifters are very rare, right? Not counting Garrett, you, me and now Bridgett, there are probably only around six or seven others that we know of in the entire state of California, although there are at least 150,000 shifters in the state. In fact we’re so rare that we’re probably all distantly related: or maybe not so distantly in some cases. I’d check out her DNA if I were you.”

What she said made me shiver with excitement. “She doesn’t look like me.”
Although I hadn’t really looked that closely.

“I think you may want to find out anyway. She could be a distant cousin. It would be good to have family wouldn’t it?”

“I have a family here with Garrett and Rob and the team, and anyway, she’s really bitchy.”

“I suppose
you
were never bitchy when you were afraid or angry?”

“She could be related to you, too.”
Turnabout is fair play.

I could hear the smile in her voice.
“Yes, she could, as could you.” That got my attention. I thought about Maya’s blonde hair and her green eyes and it made me wonder. ”She sounds like she needs some help.”

“I was afraid you’d
say that.” I leaned back with a sigh.

“You wouldn’t have called me if you didn’t want to help her. You’re a healer; it’s what you do naturally
.”

“But I have to find Brina and Kennet is after me. It’s too much all at once.”

“Stop whining. You have the rest of the team to help with Brina and you have Garrett, Liam, Lord Caelen and me to help with Kennet. But you might be all that Bridgett has right now.”

“Maya what do you know about my
family?” I’m sure I must have sounded a little desperate.

“I’ve done some digging. There’s some evidence of a birth in the Lake Tahoe area that coincides with the month and year of your birth. I
’ll keep looking for you. Cheetahs should know their backgrounds.” Her scientific curiosity was kicking in. “I was born in New York and my family never moved to the west coast." She didn’t elaborate any further.

"
I appreciate the help."

"Don't get too used to it."

We said our goodbyes and hung up. It was around 3:30 in the afternoon when the phone rang. It was Liam.

Hello, Miss Jacqueline. I trust that everything is going well on your mission?”

“Uh, Liam, I think you can drop the Miss Jacqueline. You called me Jacqueline or Jackie in Faerie so can’t we just stick with that?”

“When we’re alone or with Garrett, but in front of all the others I think it is wise to continue playing our roles outside of Faerie. Being underestimated and overlooked works well for me.”

“Okay, I get it. That’s fine. Thanks for the food. I’m not a great cook and neither is Ethan.“

“I would teach you some simple recipes, if you want to learn.
”

I tried to sound enthusiastic.
“That might be fun. Was there something you needed to tell me?"

"Kennet has
definitely left Faerie. No one knows where's he's gone. I need you to be on your guard at all times. He has strong powers of mental coercion and illusion. If you suspect that he is near, you must contact me.”

I took a breath, knowing that I was
probably going to get reamed for not speaking right up as soon as I'd felt sick after bowling. I confessed to Liam about my sudden weakness yesterday and how the coldness and nausea felt similar to when Kennet had jabbed me mentally at the Midsummer Ceremony.

Liam sounded exasperated.
“I will investigate, but you must tell Garrett. Do not withhold any facts from him, even if you think them insignificant. Will you never learn this lesson,
Miss
Jacqueline?”

“I’ll tell him tonight. I’m being an ass
. Thanks.”

“I had nothing to do with your asinine behavior, but you’r
e welcome.” We both laughed. I realized suddenly that I felt much better having told someone what I suspected about last night’s episode. I found that I relied on Liam’s advice and friendship more every day as our link as healers strengthened. We were unique in an often violent world, forced into bloody action ourselves at times. Although Liam was vastly more experienced dealing with his dual nature due to his 1500 years, he never treated me like a child, and I was grateful for that.