Witch Way to Turn (31 page)

“Yeah, I mean, even if the president doesn’t have a clue what Rae’s up to, I still don’t trust either one of them.” She scowled.

“What did Dandi say about a voicemail?”

Panic crept up Breena’s throat, causing her breath to shorten. “Angela Mackie called.”

“The social worker wants to know where Jenny is.”

“Yeah. And if I don’t call her back by tomorrow morning, she’ll call her boss. What am I gonna say to her? She’ll want to know why Jenny wasn’t at Norma’s. Why no one was at Norma’s. She’s going to want me to bring Jenny in and explain. They’ll take her away from me.” Breena didn’t want to go all sobbing-hysterical girl again, but she could feel the pain clawing its way to the surface.

Her life was a disaster.
She
was a disaster.

All she’d ever wanted was for her and Jenny to be free of Norma. She’d thought maybe it would happen someday, but now it never would.

She’d found out she was a halfling freak. Fallen for the preternatural assassin sent to kill her
and
the vampire convict sent to protect her. Tried to feed on her sister’s soul. Killed a werewolf. As for the juicy cherry on her woe-is-me sundae, her warlock father–and possibly her preternatural mother–wanted her dead for some reason. What the hell was she supposed to do?

“I’ve got a plan.” Myles laid his hands on her knees, sending a wave of longing through her body.

“Which is?” She shivered.

His gaze darted down to his hands before he spoke. “I thought you’d be safe here because I’d followed orders, but obviously that was a mistake.” He paused, taking a deliberate breath and looking Breena straight in the eyes. “I’m going to Rhodhiss to compel the social worker and forge the paperwork. Then I’ll come back to Texas to take you and Jenny far away from here. We’ll run if we have to. Hide.”

“No.”

“I’m not asking, Breena Cross.” The use of her full name spoke volumes.

“You can’t leave me alone with Jenny.” She glanced at the closed bedroom door. She purposefully didn’t say
not again
, and she hoped he wouldn’t think it. “I don’t trust myself.”

Taking his hands off her knees, he sat up straight. “I’m not leaving you alone. Dandi will stay.”

“Oh.” She nodded, feeling a little better, but it seemed too easy. There had to be a catch. “Why don’t you compel the social worker over the phone?”

“Not how it works. There has to be eye contact.”

“Okay.” Even if it did work, how long could they run? What kind of life would that be for Jenny?

Then she flattened her hand over Myles’s as she thought about what one of the cleaning crew had said back at Norma’s. “Wait a sec. Has Lucinda given you orders to take me to Rhodhiss?”

He shook his head.

“Well, won’t going back break your sentence or whatever?” She also wondered what the president would have to say about Myles’s plan.

“Your life is more important to me. I wouldn’t know how to go on if something happened to you, Bree.” His voice was low, thick with emotion. “Do you remember when I told you I’d do anything for you?”

Breena nodded. As her heart raced, she knew he heard it the same way she heard the hum of a soul. Except no hum ever came from within Myles…only the shrill sound of dead silence. It was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it was reassuring not to worry about feeding on him. On the other, did he really not have a soul anymore?

Sitting here, his deception seemed light years away.

“I meant it. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. Even if it means I face the final death.”

Before she could protest that she wasn’t about to be the reason for anyone else dying, he pulled her onto his lap.

“Myles, what–”

He wrapped a hand around the base of her neck and pulled her down until her mouth was inches from his own. For a moment, he stared into her eyes and the desire she found there stripped her bare. He tucked her hair behind her ear, then closed the gap between them. His lips were soft on hers, but the heat in them was demanding. Overwhelming.

She couldn’t believe it. They were officially Kissing.

His hands were in her hair, on her face…everywhere. Each touch of his lips to hers felt like a dream. Would she wake up to find him gone? How could she make him stay? What would it cost to keep him with her…always? She would gladly pay any price. For now, she savored the stolen moment. She was so lost in the feel of his lips, in the dark taste of his mouth, that when he started to ease her back she mistook his hand on her face for a caress.

He held her gently by the upper arms and broke the kiss. “Breena,” he panted.

“Hmm?”

“You, uh… You asked for my help. To control the hunger.”

What?

Yeah, she wanted his help, but not right this second. Myles had his brows furrowed together, and looked all business-like. Apparently they were Not Kissing Anymore.

Sighing, she nodded.

Typical
.

“First lesson in self-restraint, know yourself. Especially your weaknesses.” From where she was sitting–snug in his lap–Breena was brutally aware of the extent of his restraint. “For example, I know if I’d removed any article of clothing from your body, even a sock, I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself. I would’ve made you mine right here on this coffee table.”

A thrill of desire tightened the muscles of her belly.
Would that have been so bad?
her libido wanted to know.

Yes,
her more reasonable side replied.
 

Dammit. With everything else going on in her life, why did she keep letting herself get so close to the fire? Obviously, she didn’t know herself as well as she should. After all, she was dating the preternatural assassin who’d killed Myles’s family. She’d lost sight of what was important. Again. She didn’t have time for these indulgences. For the vampire’s games, the preternatural’s persistence, or her never-ending supply of guilt.

All she really wanted was to protect her sister. Even if Jenny was her weakness. So she crawled off Myles’s lap and scooted back onto the couch. Tucking her legs into her chest, she wrapped her arms around them. When she looked down, she noticed the wolf bite on her arm had completely disappeared.

Myles stretched his arm on the back of the sofa and leaned closer to her. “You’ll control it someday, Bree. You’re still very young. It takes practice and a lot of self-denial.” His steel-blue gaze lingered on her, full of a pain she finally understood.

Would they ever have the chance to start over? To come clean, no deception. Would he ever totally let her in?

Being in Myles’s arms felt like being home, like a cool fall night by the river. Her river. As she lay there, safe in the vampire’s embrace, she couldn’t help thinking about what he’d said. Yes, Orin had awakened something inside her, but she couldn’t blame him. She was the one who’d wanted the pain to go away. She was the one looking for a quick fix to her problems.

Besides, her half-witch side had come to her aid with Stan all by itself. Eventually, her preternatural side would’ve shown itself too. And if Orin hadn’t seen something in Breena that stopped him from killing her, she wouldn’t even be alive and thinking about this stuff. Orin had spared her life. She was grateful to him.

But did she love him?

Chapter 26

Breena woke to the sound of sizzling and the smell of grease cooking. The surroundings didn’t look familiar, and it took her a minute to remember she was on the couch in the apartment at the Betty Lou Compound.

Her stomach wailed like a banshee. Breakfast. That she remembered.

“Jenny, your sister’s awake,” she heard Myles say from the kitchen.

Jenny came bounding around the corner. “Bea!” She jumped onto her sister’s lap, spouting out the rhyme Breena had tweaked for her after the wolf attack in Rhodhiss. “Eeenie, meenie, minie moe....”

“Catch a wolf by the toe...”

“If it hollers, don’t let it go...” Jenny chimed.

“Eeenie, meenie, minie, moe.” Breena smoothed the loose hair around her sister’s face back into her ponytail. “So you’re not mad at me?”

“Nah.”

“I wouldn’t blame you, Jenny.”

“It’s okay, sis. Myles explained everything to me.”

“He did?” Breena looked toward the kitchen, but it was empty.

“Yeah. He said you wouldn’t hurt me, because you don’t hurt the people you love.”

Not on purpose, anyway.

“So you disappeared.” Her big brown eyes rolled. “But, duh, I knew you weren’t gonna hurt me.”

“How’d you know?”

“You’re my big sister.” Jenny grinned.

Breena pulled her close, wrapping her arms around Jenny in the biggest bear hug she could give. When she leaned back, Jenny hopped down and ran to the kitchen to help with breakfast. Breena followed until Myles grabbed her arm. She stumbled backward into his chest.

“We’ve got to leave,” he said, his tone serious, his expression hard to read.

“We? I thought you were going back to Rhodhiss without us?”

“Change of plans. They’re coming. Dandi will call the airline.”

“Who’s coming?”

He didn’t answer as he dragged her into the kitchen to get Jenny. “Come on, kiddo, we’ve got to go.”

“What about breakf–”

“Leave it.” Myles snatched Jenny up and threw her onto his shoulders, pulling Breena along by the arm.

They’d nearly reached the front door when it exploded inward, crashing into the apartment.

The black wolf, Jay, faced them. Myles released Breena, set Jenny on the ground and launched himself at the wolf with his vampire-quick reflexes. But the wolf–agile for his massive size–flipped Myles over and pinned him to the floor, ripping a chunk of flesh from his neck.

Breena grabbed Jenny by the hand and ran down the hall to the master bedroom. In the bathroom, she took a moment to gather Jenny close, though she knew she probably couldn’t spare it.

She brushed Jenny’s hair back and cupped her face, looked into her eyes. “Stay put, short stuff, okay?”

Jenny clutched at her sister’s hand. “Bea–”

“It’ll be okay.” Heart breaking, she pulled her hand from Jenny’s. “Stay here, baby girl.”

She made herself turn away, lock the door.

That was as far as her well-thought-out plan went.

Not stopping to think, she ran back into the hallway.

The sound of hissing and growling–along with fabric ripping and furniture breaking–came from the living room. Holy hell! There went the coffee table…and the lamp. Damn, it had just been cleaned up from Orin and Dandi’s fight.

Get a grip, Breena. You freaking out is not helping Myles
.

As Breena approached the living room, she saw there were two wolves now. A reddish-brown wolf had Myles cornered by the entertainment center, while the big black wolf stalked around them.

Then the black wolf spotted Breena. Turning, he leaped for her.

She made a mad dash for the kitchen.

Smooth move.

There was nowhere for her to go. With only one exit from the kitchen, Jay had her trapped.

“Did you think we’d let you get away with killing Felix? Halfling bitch,” the wolf growled.

“It was self-defense.” Behind her, a wave of heat wafted from the stovetop. Thank God it was still warm.

Glancing over her shoulder, she glimpsed Myles through the pass-thru. The brownish-red wolf sprang forward, but the vampire caught him mid-air and snapped his neck. The crack of spine sounded so loudly it caused Jay to hesitate.

Breena grabbed the frying pan handle. As Jay turned to face her, she flung the hot bacon grease at him. With an ear-splitting howl of pain, he lumbered backward for a moment before rallying and charging forward.

Myles caught him by the tail, yanked him away from her and flattened him against the kitchen floor. The vampire reared back, fangs gleaming and eyes stoplight-red. In a flash, Myles had ripped the wolf’s throat out and spat it on the tile.

Realizing she was still holding the frying pan, she let it hit the floor with a loud
clang
.

She gawked down at Myles. There were splattered drops of blood in his jet-black curls. His eyes had dulled to their normal steel-blue and his fangs had retracted slightly, but his neck still looked awful. A huge chunk was gone. Just…gone. It’d stopped bleeding and nothing hung out any more, but it would take longer to heal than they had time.

She’d dealt with this particular pack of werewolves enough to know their fearless leader couldn’t be far behind them, though apparently she didn’t like getting her paws dirty. Excuse the hell out of Breena.

She was trying to figure out who she could call for help, when Myles collapsed to the floor.

Shit.

She grabbed a towel from the countertop and ran over to him. He lay utterly still, sprawled on the floor and covered in blood. Surely, that wasn’t all his? Gagging, she wiped off his mouth and still had no idea what to do about his neck.