Kept (5 page)

For some reason I felt drawn to the porch, where I stared out at the busy morning street. Cars went by, their passengers taking care of weekend business. None of them turned into my parents’ driveway or waved in my direction.

Alex had work today, but he pulled up to the house around lunchtime. He sat down on the chair next to me. “No sign of Dad, huh?”

Out of nowhere, my stomach growled. How long had it been since I’d eaten? “Nope. I guess it’s time to call the cavalry. I’ll do it.”

“No.” He grabbed my arm, preventing me from standing. “We have our honor,” he whispered. “This is our burden to bear, not the others’.”

I rolled my eyes and stifled a groan. “Don’t give me that BS. If the family bands together, we stand a better chance of helping Dad.”

“So we help Dad by going to his debtor with twenty people, to help him further lose face? Not happening.”

I looked at the road again and pondered the man sitting next to me. For the longest time, Alex was known among us as the womanizer who took life as seriously as he took the next lay who fell/jumped/skydived into his lap, but now he was a different person.

He continued. “One debt. One wolf. That’s the way it’s always been. He’s our sire, so we should be able to speak to him, see him at least.”

“When did you start caring about the Code?”

“I started to care when I realized pretty soon I’m gonna have to be responsible for teaching someone else our way of life.”

I crossed my arms and bit my lower lip. Of all the times for Alex to grow up. If I weren’t so afraid for Dad,
I would’ve been proud. Maybe he had a point—
if
he had a solid plan.

“Our friends and family won’t like this,” I said. But, then again, they weren’t here to offer their opinion. “So what should we do?”

He had a conspiratorial gleam in his blue eyes. Seeing his determination made me smile. “Pack a quick bag and hightail it out of here before Mom notices. We’ll drive down to Atlantic City and find Old Leslie Leatherback.”

After I acknowledged his plan with a nod, I made it home in record time. Since it was around lunchtime, I didn’t expect anyone to be home. Aggie worked the lunch shift at Barney’s Pickles.

But instead of finding a quiet house, I heard whispers from the living room. A tiny moan and then the frantic rustling of clothes, with the associated snaps and zips. I strolled into the kitchen with a wide grin.
Should I give Aggie and her guest a bit more time?
I asked myself. I was in a hurry, but I grabbed a glass for orange juice and checked the rest of the glasses to make sure they were lined up correctly. All the while, I made plenty of noise to show I was in the kitchen, before I entered the living room.

“Hey, Nat,” Aggie yelled. “What are you doing home? I thought you were scheduled at The Bends till late today?”

Under normal circumstances, I did work the Saturday shift, as well as the Sunday and Monday ones. But a quick call to my boss while I’d driven here had gotten me a few days off. Speaking of taking things off, apparently Aggie was spending the afternoon taking off someone else’s clothes.

Not more than ten feet away stood a blond-haired, hazel-eyed man with a deep flush in his cheeks. Will
Grantham continued to button up his shirt, his eyes avoiding mine.

“I did.”

I could’ve excused myself to give her some more time, but after every little trick she’d played on me over the past few months, seeing Aggie flushed with embarrassment for a minute or two was
so
worth it.

I took a step toward the stairwell. “I need to change out of these clothes. You two can hang out for a while.”

While I marched upstairs, I couldn’t help yelling back down, “There’s no sex allowed on my couch, you two!”

My shower didn’t take too long. I even managed to only second-guess myself four times about my outfit before I settled on a pair of blue jeans. This wasn’t a business trip. My standard wardrobe of blouses, heels, and pencil skirts wouldn’t cut it. Especially if I had to defend myself. I actually owned only one pair of jeans, but I rarely wore them. They’d been used so infrequently, I had to take the brand-new tags off them.

Once I was uncomfortably dressed, I prepared an overnight bag.

“Hey, Nat!” A knock on the door drew my attention.

“Yeah?” I moved faster.

“You hungry for lunch? Will is heading out for burgers.”

“I’m good. I just need to go out for some air. I’m really concerned about Dad and need to sort things out.” I shook my head after I said it. Heading out for a casual stroll in the forest would never happen. Especially with all the mud and gunk out there.

A loud snort came from outside the door. “Go out for some air?” She tried the doorknob and found it locked. “What are you doing in there? You’re not planning anything stupid with Alex, are you?”

I groaned silently and cursed Aggie for having a midday tryst instead of going to her job as manager at Barney’s
Pickles. Why didn’t she have her weekend sex-fest with Will over at his place? But when I thought about it, I remembered that Will lived with his dad and Thorn, which meant that if my place wasn’t available, it didn’t exactly leave many hookup spots other than the local Holiday Inn.

I almost grabbed a shirt for my bag, but Aggie knocked again. “Nat, I can smell a mistake coming. If you think I’ll let you march out of here and …”

I stopped listening. In two strides, I made it to my bedroom window. The latch clicked silently and, with a few smooth movements, I leaped out the second-story window. I landed on the ground with no problems—but the urge to climb up and close the window hit hard. (What if it rained?
Sleeted?
)

It didn’t matter. There was no time to take care of it. As I made it to my car, I heard Aggie thundering down the steps. I gunned it down my driveway and made a beeline for my brother’s place.

While I drove, I took stock of what had just happened: I’d packed a bag containing a
single
shirt and barely any toiletries. And I was on my way to save my father, without enough time to plan out a damn thing. Pulling together a search party had to be easier in the olden days, when you strapped on a gun and rode to the rescue with a tin star.

One thing I did know was I had to pick up Alex—really fast, before Aggie’s cunning little mind found a way to stop us. I could practically hear her now: “Have you sorted one too many antiques, Nat? Because I’m questioning your sanity here. These are dangerous people you’re trying to meet.”

I was one block away from my brother’s home when I pulled off to the side of the road. The ticking clock nipped at my mind, but what I’d imagined her saying made me stop and think.

Other than the obvious question of what the hell was I doing, thoughts of my brother also came to mind. He was married, with a child due any day now. As his older sister, I was responsible for him, and I shouldn’t allow him to put his life in danger. Instead, I should go by myself. It felt like the right thing to do, but the result was a painful one. I’d have no one to help me.

But on the other hand, if the worst happened, how could I ever face Karey and my future nephew or niece to tell them that I was there when my brother died and I didn’t even try to put my own life in his place?

My fingers tapped the dashboard. I had the note and a general idea of which casinos to search. On the way I could stop for cash. I could do this. It wouldn’t be hard at all.

I hoped.

After driving a half hour, I had to stop for gas. Since I hadn’t planned to escape, I hadn’t filled the tank.

It was still early afternoon so I had plenty of time to reach Atlantic City before rush hour. While an attendant filled my car with gas, I went inside to grab some food. If they had any that passed my stringent standards. There wasn’t much to choose from. In the end, I decided I could always trust a bag of chips. Not the healthiest choice, but at least it was sealed shut. Armed with a bottle of water and my chips, I headed back to the car.

I hadn’t gotten more than ten feet when I spotted Thorn leaning against my car, his arms crossed, an even expression on his face. Damn it. He always managed to sneak up on me. Even from downwind. No sounds. No scent. If he’d been an enemy, he could’ve brought me down without a struggle.

“So how long did you think you could run from us before I found you?” he asked.

I strolled past him and dumped my purchases into the backseat. I shouldn’t have been surprised by this. Will had been at my house with Aggie, so he’d called his older brother as soon as he knew what was going on. And now that Will had poked his paws into my business, I had no choice but to face Thorn.

Alex, frowning, headed over from his truck. “Did you plan to call anyone to say you were leaving without me?”

I stared at the pavement. What could I say to them? They knew very well what I was doing.

“I was worried something might happen to you if I let you go to Atlantic City,” I said quietly.

Thorn snorted and then scratched the back of his head. I guess he thought my sacrifice was foolhardy.

“I’m my own man. There’s nothing you need to worry about,” Alex grumbled.

“Alex told me a thing or two on the way here. I’d ask why you decided to go it alone, but we both know, based on your past history, the answer to that one.”

I wanted to say, “What do you care?” Or more specifically, why should he care about what goes on in my life, since we couldn’t be together anymore? But what I actually said was, “Alex and I can handle this on our own. You don’t need to worry about our father.”

I stole a glance at Alex. Hadn’t we agreed to keep our father’s secret to ourselves? Wouldn’t telling people our business just bring gossip out into the open? Especially with the way my aunts loved to gab?

“Fyodor is pack,” Thorn said. “I’m concerned about his whereabouts as much as you are. If I were in the same position, I know he’d do the same for me.”

It was so easy for him to flip things around. But he did tell the truth. When the Long Island werewolves had kidnapped my brother, Thorn was there to search with me. He’d fought bravely and helped save Alex. If I recalled
correctly, he’d snuck up on me then, too, when I’d tried to join the rescue team.

“Since you’re so eager to find your father, tell me, what’s your plan?” Thorn’s smug look made me want to kick him in the shin. Hard.

“I have a note from my mom—with a lead.”

“So you plan to track him that way? With a note? Does it have an X on it maybe?” My frustration rose with every word Thorn said.

“Can you two stop fighting and get in Nat’s car? I thought you guys were done with arguing like this. Good God, it’s like you’re married or something.”

I gave Alex a look that could’ve melted the flesh off his face. Thorn only chuckled.

They both could go to hell.

“What about your truck?” I asked Alex.

“I’ll send Uncle Boris a message to pick it up after he gets off work. He’ll take any excuse to go to the bars around here.”

Those poor women. They weren’t ready for Lady-Killer Uncle Boris. Until he’d knocked up a wood nymph and married her, my brother used to be just like him. Now it was just my uncle who roamed the bar scene. One woman had jokingly told me that his cologne was so disgusting, it smelled like the Black Death. If Boris ever told us over family dinner that he’d knocked someone up, the first thing I’d wonder was if she had a sense of smell.

I paid the attendant in cash. By the time I approached the car, only one seat remained empty: the back one. The two coconspirators sat in the front seat chatting away, most likely about where they planned to go first and what steps they’d take.

This was gonna be a long day. And I’d already completely lost control of the situation.

Chapter 4

W
hen
Atlantic City came into view, the neon lights made me wary. For anyone else, the sight would have promised a good time. Lights. Gambling. Fast music, faster women, and enough liquor to guarantee a drunken stupor. But we weren’t here for fun. And we most certainly weren’t here to see if we could make enough money playing the crap tables to build a college fund for Alex’s unborn child.

All we had was a couple of names. Not the best of leads in a city as large as this one. We entered town via the Expressway, and I wondered if this road would lead us in the right direction.

Alex must have had some plan I didn’t know about. He made a few turns and headed farther into the city.

Meanwhile, Thorn stared out the window. For once, I was glad I was sitting in the back, so I could steal a glance or two at him. Waves of soft blond hair peeked over the headrest, beckoning my hand to run my fingers through them. Then his own hand snaked up to touch the curls, and I’ll admit it—I envied the damn thing.

Thorn’s head tilted to the side, and I caught his profile. My gaze roamed from his eyes down to his lips. Guilt poured over me as the familiar hunger hit, and I immediately turned away. He had to have noticed. My quickened
breath. My racing heartbeat. But this shouldn’t matter to him. Or me. After all, an invisible line existed between us—one that couldn’t be crossed at any cost. No matter how I felt.

I directed my attention elsewhere. “Are we close to the main strip of casinos, Alex?”

“I think so.” But he didn’t sound
that
confident.

My brother was just as stubborn as I could be. I’d offered to use the GPS I stored in the backseat, but he refused. That didn’t stop me from pulling it out and turning it on now, though. Why, yes,
there
was the strip of hotels next to the coast. And why, yes, here we are going in the
wrong
direction.

I turned up the volume on the GPS so Alex could hear the woman’s voice.
“Turn left now.”

“Could you shut that thing off?” Alex grated.

As the late-afternoon traffic increased, I knew we’d be here forever, so I left it on.

My brother tried to pretend he was ignoring it, but he made the turns as directed, and soon we were back on track.

“That thing’s pretty nifty,” he finally admitted. “Although the voice is kinda boring. It’d be hotter if they used Pamela Anderson or something.”