Stalked (Rogues Shifter #2) (21 page)

“Hello Francois, would you and the others like to come in?”

“Bonsoir, Jacqueline. Thank you for your courteous welcome. We would be honored.” Francois was another hot vampire with an abundance of old world charm and sex appeal. He was Eleanor’s maker and had always hated that she’d forced the change on Garrett.

After he entered he leaned over to kiss my hand and I smelled his delicious
ly sweet scent as he smelled mine. I saw a few silver sparkles in his eyes when he stood up, his charming smile full of flirty mischief. Sasha, Heinrich, William and Yvette filed in after him, all of them staring at me and taking in my scent like I was a delicious appetizer.

“Please make yourselves comfortable in the living room. I apologize that you have to wait, but we have other guests that will be leaving soon. I’ll bring them in and introdu
ce all of you before they go.” At this point Garrett had arrived and was staring at me like I’d lost my mind completely. Francois, on the other hand, was looking highly amused. The vamps could all smell the weres and vice versa.

“Tres dangereux!
I’ll have Aaron and his team leave through the patio door.”

“They’re our guests and should leave thr
ough the front. Could you please control your vamps while I take care of the weres?”

He wrinkled his brow and gazed at me incredulously
. “How are you going to “take care” of an alpha and two of his pack?”
I put my hand on his chest so he could feel the amount of emerald energy flowing through me. He shook his head.
“This could end in disaster.”
Still he managed an unsure smile. He'd give me a little rope in the hopes that I didn't hang myself with it.

“Or not.”
I smiled back and kissed him gently.
“Thank you.”
He shrugged and walked into the living room while I went into the study to speak to Aaron, Ralph and Andy. “I’m sorry, but Garrett’s nest is here. Garrett has an important meeting scheduled with them. Is everything set for tomorrow?”

“Yep, Liam is letting Andy and Ralph and their crew in at 6:00 AM to start work in the basement.” Aaron answered
. The two others were looking in the direction of the front door with trepidation.

I swallowed and st
epped closer. “I’d like you to meet them. Francois, Eleanor’s maker, is here too."

A
aron’s eyes glittered with amusement. “You want us to walk into a room with five strange vampires?” Aaron seemed more intrigued by my bravado than frightened of our other guests.

“It’s important to me, Aaron. I need to talk to all of you together.”
When I reached out to take his hand, he hesitated for only a few seconds, then shrugged and allowed me to lead the way.

The othe
r two followed close behind as we entered the living room. Aaron, going into pack leader mode, stood in front with Andy and Ralph just behind him on his right and left. I managed to get through all the introductions without messing up any names. None of the vampires or weres looked happy, except maybe for Francois who was enjoying the show immensely. Even Garrett looked nervous. Heinrich hissed and showed his fangs and I heard a growl start up in Aaron’s chest. Garrett gave Heinrich a stern look and he shut up quickly.

Hopi
ng I could pull this off, I made my announcement. “I apologize in advance.”

I opened myself up to the magic and let it swirl around me in a green healing energy, then sent it out to Aaron, Ralph, Andy and the five vampires in the room.  Francois started to laugh as he felt what I was doing. I watched facial muscles relax, fists unclench and shoulders drop as they lost their tension. Garrett shook his head
, but then moved beside me and snaked an arm around my waist in support.

I tried to sound
confident. “Sasha, Heinrich and William, you’ll be living here while these wolves and their crew will be working on the property. I’d like to negotiate a temporary truce. None of you are strangers anymore. These wolves are our allies and you’ve been introduced. You can’t use the excuse that you didn’t recognize them.” I eased up on the magic.

Garrett stared at his nest and they all nodded. Andy and Ralph looked at Aaron.

“I told them they had to be off the property by dusk.”

“This is only as a precaution,
just in case, Aaron. I would never compromise your authority.” I smiled at him sweetly.

"Yeah, I can
see that." He gave me a wry smirk, then swept his powerful gaze across the room, making it clear that he’d make sure his men were safe at all costs.

I took another look around and decided to jump off the proverbial
"cliff of good sense". “There’s one other thing. I’m in danger and may need your help, so I’m asking for this truce to stay in effect outside of our property as well."

Aaron almost smiled. “What trouble are you in now, Jackie?”

“A fae Lord wants to beat the crap out of me.” Garrett's mouth dropped open at my description.

“I thought you were allies
of the fae.” Aaron cast a puzzled expression in Garrett's direction.

I answered.
“We are, but this guy is an obnoxious egomaniac. You remember Lord Kennet, the judge at the duel? He asked me to leave Garrett and have his heir and I said..." I winced. "Well, I insulted him—big time.” Aaron choked trying to hold in a laugh. Francois looked extremely amused and even Sasha was grinning. Nice to know I hadn't lost my entertaining touch.

Garrett spoke
to Aaron, gesturing to his three remaining nest. “Try to think of them as an extension of me. I guarantee that they will behave professionally.”

Aaron arched an eyebrow at Ga
rrett. “I’ll think about it. He turned to me. “Jackie, you know that you have our full support if you need us."

“Thank you, Aaron.”
I took Aaron’s arm and led him to the front door. Garrett came along followed by Andy and Ralph and we said our goodnights.

Aaron took my hand and turned me to meet his gaz
e. “Don't ever pull that stunt with me or my pack again. I don’t like to be manipulated.” I felt his own brand of two hundred year old power crackling around him.

“I'm sorry."
I tried to look contrite."I apologized before I started." He didn't look impressed. "I won't do it again without your okay."

“W
hatever you did made me feel calmer than I have in months.” I was relieved when he cracked his usual smile. "But try to understand. To us, it's a kind of Influence, a glamour that a lot of wolves would take the wrong way. I know you think you're helping, but..." He shrugged.

“Liam tells me that a healer always seeks to find a balance.”

“If you can find a balance between vamps and wolves, you’re a goddess." He kissed my cheek and turned to Garrett. "Cuz, I admire your courage. Talk to you soon." He left, followed by the other two who were laughing and happy about the new job.

I turned to Garrett and cringed a little
. “You angry with me?”

“
I should be, but I’m pretty much in awe right now.”
He kissed my cheek
.

My
relief was instantaneous.
“I’ll get another bottle of wine."

When I got back to the living room, Garrett was sitting in a chair and Yvette was standing in front of him. She was dressed in a tight black leat
her dress with a high slit. Her lovely dark curly hair fell around her beautiful face as she bowed her head. Francois, dressed in a dark suit, dark shirt and tie, was watching the proceedings with interest, as were the rest of the nest. I placed the tray with the wine and glasses on a side table and turned to watch.

“
Master, with great respect, I petition you to release me from your nest. Francois has agreed to accept me into his nest in Paris and I wish to go.” She looked directly at him with her large dark eyes. “You have been extremely fair and kind, more than I ever could have expected. I will abide by your decision without argument. If you demand that I stay, I will continue to live by your rules and serve you loyally.”

“Yve
tte, I’ve known you for more than a century and it's true, we’ve had our differences." She smiled slightly. "You were one of the few came to my aid, risking severe punishment or even death. Eleanor didn't tolerate women who showed any strength of character. I'll never forget your kindness. You’re free to go and I wish you well. I sincerely hope that you'll be happy in Paris. Please call me if I can be of service to you at any time in the future.” Garrett took her hand and stood, pulling her over to him, kissing first one cheek then the other.

“Thank you Garrett.” She bowed her head slightly and then smiled at him. She was very beautiful, even more so now that she was happy. She sat on a chair next to Francois and he took her hand, weaving his fingers around hers. Garrett had not only given Yvette permission to leave, but in offering her his help, he had declared her to be an independent, able to start her own nest if she desired to leave Francois’.

Garrett sat down again and looked warily at the remaining three members sitting together on the couch. “You’ll be moving into my basement tomorrow night. I’ll have a truck at your house at sundown and you can pack whatever you want to bring with you. It won’t be as comfortable as your home now, but it’s only a temporary arrangement. I’m building another house next door where you'll live until you petition me as Yvette has or you achieve final death. When you're living here you'll abide by certain rules which I’ll discuss with you later. When you move into the new house, some of the rules will be more relaxed, but my basic conditions will remain in place.

“I’ve decided to make you all a part of Rogues, Inc. Sash, I'll be using your skills as a trainer to work with Rick and William, and I'll bring in Kyle to tea
ch you about some of the weapons he's developed.

"O
ur enemies are very rarely human or shifter and only occasionally vampire. You may eventually be called to fight fae, weres, dark witches or sorcerers. Sasha, you and Heinrich have a talent for reconnaissance and interrogation which will come in handy. The next few months should be interesting to say the least.” Sasha and Heinrich’s eyes were swirling with silver. They were definitely turned on by the prospect of bloodshed. William on the other hand was staring at the floor looking even paler than normal.

“What’s up with William?”
I sent to Garrett.

“He’s not the fighting type. Eleanor liked to keep one weakling in the group for entertainment purposes.”

“Is he smart?”

“He was at MIT for engineering. I’m going to train him to fight for his own protection and then put him with Kyle and Sinc to see where his skills lay.”

“You might want to tell him that, so he doesn’t pass out here on the couch.”

Garrett smiled and said, “William.” William’s head snapped up. “You’ll train with the others for your own protection
and to build up your strength, but it would be a waste of your talent to use you as a fighter. I’m going to place you with my weapons expert, Kyle. He’s a leopard shifter who’ll work with you on designing new weapons. I’d also like to see how quickly you can learn from our tech/science guru, Sinc.”

William looked so relieved that he practically grinned. “Yes, Master.”

“Call me Garrett. You will
not
feed from the shifters.”

“No,
Mas—Garrett, of course not.”

“None of you will glamour or feed from any of my team members or allies on pain of death, unless they offer their blood to you of their o
wn free will.” They all nodded.

“A question, Gar
rett?” Sasha asked."Your mate agreed to us living in your basement?” He seemed skeptical.

“You can ask me questions directly, Sasha.” I frowned at him. “I’m standing right here.”

“I apologize, Mistress.” His voice was low and sexy and his perfect mouth turned up just a little at the corners.

“Jackie.” I corrected him.

“Jackie.” He nodded and smiled. He was wearing khaki pants and a white button down shirt, unbuttoned, showing off his pale sculpted abs. Sasha’s deep set blue eyes sparkled as I watched him take in my scent. I bet he didn’t have to glamour women to get blood. They probably lined up in front of him with their necks bared.

“It was my idea for you to move in with us and
also to build you the house.”

He looked surprised. “You don’t
fear us?”

I expected this question.
“You were at the duel. Did you see Antoine die?”

“Yes
.” His grin grew a little wider.

"And he was older than you?"

"By more than a century." Silver danced in his blue eyes. “I understand completely and I thank you for your generosity.” I'd put the not so subtle threat out there. Mess with me and you’ll end up dead. Whether I could pull it off, was another story, but they had doubts and that was enough for now.

“Is this house secure when we rest?” Heinrich was a
very large vampire with a German accent who liked to dress like a biker. No matter how tough he was, he was completely vulnerable during the daylight hours, just like the rest of them. It was a valid concern.