Knight Shift (54 page)

Seeing Charlie staring at Chad with longing and a sigh, Penny said, “You two seem to have hit it off.”

Charlie turned back to Penny and said, “You could say that. These last two days have been amazing.”

Seeing that Charlie actually looked happy and excited about something, Penny said anxiously, “Please, tell me.”

“Well, when I couldn’t come back to see you, Chad kept me company. He never left my side and we talked for hours on end. Then we started to show off what forms we could shift into. All of that shifting meant that we were together naked and...”

Penny gasped and asked, “You and Chad?”

Charlie nodded excitedly and added, “Several times. The best part was when we first started to kiss and I knew where it was leading, I offered to shift into someone prettier for him.”

Penny interrupted her by saying, “But I think Charlie is pretty.”

“Said like a true friend, but I’m not blind to what I look like when in my natural Human form. It’s why I can’t go into public as myself. I stand out. I’m so pale white and thin that I look like a drug addict or the walking dead.”

“Surely Chad doesn’t see you that way. He has similar challenges.”

“We’re so much alike and he really does seem to prefer the real me. I know that because when we were in bed and I offered to transform into someone beautiful, he insisted that I remain me. And it wasn’t just that he was caught up in the moment. We’ve been together several times since then and each time he only wanted me.” She chuckled and leaned in closer to her friend and whispered, “To thank him I took a lesson from your play book.”

“What do you mean?”

“I recalled your collection and stole one of the designs I tried on. Chad didn’t want me to change into someone else so I decorated what I had. I found that I was able to use my shifting abilities to leave me as me, but still cover my body in mind created lingerie. It was really hard at first, but I was motivated to make it work.”

“How did that work since the clothes aren’t really there?”

“When it’s touching me it’s as real as any outfits you wear. It’s when he peels a piece off, it disconnects from my skin and disappears into thin air.” With a wicked grin, she added, “There was absolutely no way for him to hide how much he enjoyed the unwrapping part. The last time we were together, I even convinced him to design what I wore. He has an eye for lingerie and, for the first time in my life, I—Charlie—felt sexy.”

“So are you two going to try to continue the relationship after you return to Reno?”

“I know that I’ve known him for a very short time, but I would regret forever if I walked away now before I even give us a fighting chance. And it seems that he feels the same way because, as we drove into town, he asked me to stay here with him. We’re going to approach Sam and Susi tonight to see if they mind adding another to their household for a while.”

Penny was thrilled for her friend and said, “That’s wonderful and I’m so happy for you.” After a moment to consider the situation she added, “Maybe the two of you should consider going back to Reno together instead. I love the idea that if you stayed you would be close by, but I don’t want you mixed up in all of this. If you got hurt or killed because of me, I couldn’t live with myself.”

“I’ll gladly take that risk no matter what they do to intimidate us.”

Seeing her expression become serious and sensing there was more behind her words, Penny guessed, “You’ve caught more watchers at Sam’s.”

Charlie decided to not keep any secrets and said, “A few… maybe more. They don’t seem to be hiding their presence and Chad thinks they’re up to something. Since we’ve seen them during the day as well, we know that they can’t all be Night Walkers.”

Penny asked, with fear in her eyes, “Do you think that they’ve discovered the truth about our ruse?”

Charlie replied, “Sam called Jax right away and he was surprised to hear what was going on. He told Sam that, from his end, the ruse seems to be working perfectly. Regardless, he and Razor are coming home to check out the situation. Maybe while they’re home we can find a way for you and him to get together.”

Although Penny knew that he had the ability to sneak into her cabin without being seen, she shook head. “Every time I see him, it’s like starting over, so maybe being forced to stay apart is a good thing. I love Jax but, unlike you and Chad, we have no chance for a future together. We’ve both accepted that and in time he’ll move on.”

Hearing Penny only refer to Jax, she corrected her, “You mean you’ll both move on.”

“Yeah, that’s what I meant.”

Charlie’s face softened and she said, “You deserve happiness too, you know. When you showed up in Reno, I despised you with every cell in my body, but then you opened my eyes to what can happen when you set aside your hate. I didn’t know how much I needed a friend until you came into my life and, like Chad, I can’t turn my back on what you and I have already built together. We’re friends for life, in good times and bad.”

“I wish there wasn’t so much bad. My inner voice is warning me that things are about to get much worse and my presence is simply adding fuel to the fire.”

Charlie didn’t like her friend’s tone and, after taking her hand, she replied, “Hang in there. We’ll make it work, and I can use a few of my newest disguises to come visit you.”

Although Penny wanted to argue that anytime Charlie visited she risked herself but, to avoid a fight, Penny nodded. They turned when the door to the store opened and Quinn peeked out to tell Penny she was needed. The friends stood and Penny gave Charlie a hug. She then bent down, gave Chad a kiss on his muzzle and whispered, “Take care of Charlie for me.” She received a very large lick across the face before she headed back into the store.

After several days of feeling like she was continuing to live in a bad spy movie, Quinn asked her if she wanted to join a couple of them for a drink after work. She decided to say yes. When Penny pulled into The Tap Room’s parking lot, her stomach turned. The last time she had been in that bar was when her brothers came to visit. Now that day seemed like it belonged to another person’s life. Refusing to drive away and hide, she got out of the car and walked in. She quickly found her coworkers sitting around a table, laughing, drinking, and enjoying life. She plastered on a smile, squared her shoulders, and joined them.

Although she stayed for several hours, she never really engaged. When everyone got up to dance, Quinn took the opportunity to move so that he was sitting next to Penny. After talking for a few minutes about everyday things, he said, “John and I were talking about you the other day.”

“About what?”

“He mentioned the idea you had a few weeks back about going to help other stores. I know he hasn’t told you yet, but John was approached by headquarters. The job is yours if you want it. He’s going to offer it to you tomorrow.”

Hearing the excitement in his voice, she asked, “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

“No, but I think you need to get rid of us.” When she gave him a confused expression, he explained his thought. “When I first came into the store looking for a job, everyone saw me as a good looking idiot. You were the only one that looked beyond the surface and saw who I was inside. I know that without your support, I would never have gotten the job and never would have been considered for a manager position. Over the last year you’ve taken me under your wing and I owe you. I would like to repay that debt by telling you to take the job and get the hell out of here. You need a fresh start.”

“But all of my friends are here.”

“What friends? You used to spend so much time with the Hamilton twins, but John told me that you had a falling out with them and their family. I actually was glad at first and planned on asking you out, but it was painfully obvious that your heart was broken. Until it heals, you aren’t going to let anyone get close to you. Maybe this new job is the world’s way of offering you a new path.” When he was approached by a woman to dance, he looked at Penny, squeezed her hand, and said, “Just think about it. You’re too young to give up on life and need to focus on yourself for a while. You can’t seem to do that here.”

Penny sat back and watched everyone enjoying themselves. Feeling completely out of place, she stood, and headed to her car. Since it was already dark, she sent her code word as a text to Charlie to let her know that she was heading home. For the first time in a very long time, she was grateful that she was driving to an empty cabin so that she could spend time considering her options and make a decision on what path she wanted to follow.

Once home, she stared out the window into the woods where her family was hiding in the dark. She went to bed and, as soon as she drifted off to sleep, her mind returned to the bar. This time she was with her brothers, Taylor, and Tadd and they were laughing and dancing with locals without a care in the world. Leaning up against a pole located on the side of the dance floor was Jax. His broad chest and commanding presence made her breath catch, as it always did. She walked over and, as she stood in front of him, she stared into his dark eyes, causing heat to build inside her.

When she heard a scream, she spun to find the scene completely changed. No longer was she in the bar. Instead, she stood in the room of silver and white with the smell of disinfectant so strong that her lungs burned with each breath. When she looked down, instead of the handsome, glowing faces of Morgan and Max, she found their cold, lifeless bodies laid out—burned and broken. As she stared at their silver eagle pendants, the images swirled and soon the bodies wearing those pendants were replaced by the bloody, ripped up remains of Taylor and Tadd.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a blue suit approach and a woman asked, “Miss Blanchard. Can you identify these men?”

With tears in her eyes, Penny nodded and said, “These are my friends, Taylor and Tadd.”

The suit then asked, “What about these?”

Penny looked where the woman was pointing and found the bodies of each member of her Changeling family. She staggered and gagged at the sight. Noticing that Jax was missing, with tears streaming down her face, she reached behind her to grab on to his hand for support. When she couldn’t find him, she turned.

She found him standing in the doorway with anger and hatred in his eyes. He said, “They all died protecting you—a Human. They would all be alive if I had killed you like I’d planned.” He spit on the ground, turned his back on her, and walked away with his arm wrapped around Chloe’s waist.

As Penny fell to her knees in complete despair, she woke up. With her body shaking, she sat up and shook her head, attempting to force the images out of her mind. She crawled out of bed and went to the kitchen. With tea and toast in her hand, she heard a distant, but familiar howl and instantly knew what life path she needed to take.

Penny got up with the sun and was at a motorcycle dealership as it opened. In record time, she rode out of the lot on a new bike and left behind the car that her brothers used to teach her how to drive. It was yet another piece of her old life that she needed to let go. She then drove over to Gone Wild and, after parking her bike, walked into the store and headed straight to John’s office.

When she entered the room, he looked up and asked, “What are you doing here so early? But I’m glad you stopped in. It gives us time to talk about something.”

Penny replied, “If it’s about the job opportunity, Quinn told me about it last night.”

John nodded and said, “He stopped in first thing this morning and told me about the conversation the two of you had. He, like the rest of us, is concerned about you.”

“I appreciate your concern and I was up most of the night trying to decide what path I want to pursue.”

“And...”

“Let’s talk.” She stepped into the office and closed the door behind her.

It was mid-afternoon when she walked out of the store. She sent a text to Charlie that said, “I will be there in an hour. Wake the family.” She tucked the phone into her bag so that she wouldn’t hear the inevitable panic call in response. She put on her helmet and climbed back on her motorcycle, wearing the new riding gear that Quinn helped her pick out.

When Penny pulled up to Sam’s house, she was greeted by a very concerned family. Knowing they most likely were being watched, she waited until she got into the house before handing Taylor her helmet and pink leather coat.

Taylor said, “Nice biker babe threads and cool ride. Whose bike did you borrow?”

“It’s mine. I traded in my car.” She looked at her assembled family and was grateful to see that Jax and Razor were at home. She said, “I’m sorry for breaking our rules and barging over here, but I have something I need to speak to all of you about.”

Charlie asked, “Has something happened?”

Penny smiled and said, “Everything is fine. I actually have some good news to share.”

Susi caught the pain behind Penny’s eyes and said, “Let’s go sit in the living room and you can tell us whatever is on your mind.”

After they were sitting down, Penny tried not to stare at Jax, but his presence made her heart ache. The resolve she had when she walked into the house was quickly fading.

When Penny remained silent, Charlie became concerned and asked, “Penny, what’s going on?”

Penny began. “With the death of my family and the trouble I’ve caused all of you, I’ve been facing a fork in my road. One path had me giving up everything—basically withering and dying. You all prevented that path from becoming my reality. A second path had me continuing on as I was before the accident. Logan and Thorne have blocked that path. But recently a third path has presented itself and something’s happened that caused me to pick it as my future direction.”

Taylor asked, “What do you mean you’ve picked a future direction?”

Penny looked over at Taylor and replied, “I’m starting over.”

Tadd replied, “We don’t understand.”

Penny explained. “I originally came into this town to help Gone Wild get back on its feet. Our local store isn’t the only one having problems. I’ve been able to turn things around here and corporate headquarters quite impressed…so much so that I’ve been offered a great opportunity. They would like me to be a consultant and offer assistance to other struggling store branches. My job would be to assess their situation and help them develop plans for how to get themselves back on their feet.”

Taylor waved off her explanation and said, “You’ve already used that excuse.”

Penny replied, “It isn’t an excuse this time. They really offered me the job.”

Taylor said with pride, “It’s about time they see how much of a difference you’ve made.”

Tadd added, “But it sounds like it would involve a lot of travel.”

“Yes. I would be sent all over the country.”

Susi asked, “How long would you be away on these consulting trips?”

“It isn’t just the trips that will keep me away.” She took in a deep breath and added, “The job is based out of Dallas, Texas and I’m moving there permanently.”

While Jax froze, the twins jumped to their feet and Taylor yelled, “Hell no! You can’t move away.”

She looked pointedly at Sam and said, “You can’t deny that removing me from the picture will make all of your lives easier. You’ve dropped everything trying to protect me and it’s not a short term problem that’s going to suddenly go away. The moment we drop our guard and I try to join the family again, they’ll find out.” She then turned to Jax and said, “If I’m gone, no ruse would be required and you can go on living the life you were meant to live before I entered the picture.” She looked over at Ben. “You don’t have to be psychic to know that my smile has been fake. I’m miserable. I can’t live here without all of you in my life. It’s killing me. You know this and have kept my secret, but I don’t want any more lies.”

Penny scanned the faces of her family. “Everything has changed for me and I know that I can never go back to the person I was. I’m hoping that starting a new life in a new place will help me refocus and give me purpose again. It’s what my father said to me when I was offered the position that brought me here.” Imitating her father’s voice, she said, “Penny, you’ve been staring out the window desperate to find your place in this world. Fate has opened a door for you. Stick your foot in it before it slams you in the face.” She let out a chuckle remembering her father’s expression. “He was right about so many things. Fate has presented me yet another opportunity and I’ve decided to stick more than my foot in it. I’ve decided to walk through the door. Maybe when things calm down in your world, I can come back to visit.” Looking pointedly at Jax she added, “And don’t worry. I’ll keep all of your secrets locked away.”

Taylor exclaimed, “But that isn’t enough. Fate brought you to us and you now have a purpose—to be a part of our family. You belong here.” Thinking quickly on his feet, he said, “I offer you another door. Quit your job and move in here with us.”

Tadd nodded enthusiastically and added. “Yeah! Then we can keep an eye on you twenty-four hours a day.”

With tears welling in her eyes, she replied, “And I know you would do it. That’s exactly why I’m leaving. I refuse to let you give up your lives for me. I’m truly honored and forever grateful that you’ve let me spend some time in your world, but I’m Human and I need to find my place among my own kind. You can’t take care of me forever and every second I’m here puts you further in danger.” With words thick with emotion, she added, “I won’t be the one to identify all of your bodies after you’re killed protecting me.”

Jax sat quietly and stared intently at Penny while the group continued to argue over alternatives. All of their voices became a buzz in his ears, leaving him trapped in the thought that she was leaving. The idea of her not being a part of his life felt like a knife stabbing in his chest. He knew that it was a future he didn’t want to live in.

When Jax stood and started to pace, Ben grabbed his arm and dragged him into the kitchen. Once alone, he went against the number one rule with living with Jax and pinned the large Changeling to the wall. With a growl in his voice, he demanded, “Open that damn mouth of yours and stop her.”

Jax didn’t fight his restraint and replied, “Maybe this is for the best. I should never have allowed her to stay; it put her in danger.”

“No matter what she says out loud, she isn’t afraid for herself. Her thoughts are perfectly clear and they’re screaming one thing. She can’t live a life without you and it’s tearing her apart. And you know that she can never be safe no matter where she goes. Even if you take Logan out of the picture her scent calls to any Night Walker that gets near her and makes her a magnet to our world. How long do you think it will take before they discover her? There’s no place on Earth that’s safe for her, except at your side.”

“But we can’t be together.”

“Why? Because we’re supposed to hate Humans? That’s bullshit. She’s a part of you now and only you can give her a reason to stay. Don’t you let her walk out of this house and out of our lives or you’ll regret it for as long as you live.” Ben angrily stormed out of the kitchen, leaving Jax to think on his words.

After regrouping mentally, Jax returned to the living room. He found Charlie sitting next to Penny with Chad’s large dog head resting on Penny’s lap. He listened to the continued futile attempts at making Penny change her mind and he knew that Ben was right. Only he had the power to do what needed to be done, but his mouth refused to open.

Charlie caught the glares Ben was giving Jax and she decided to interfere. She asked loud enough to get everyone’s attention, “Jax, did you have something you wanted to say?” She didn’t hide the pleading behind her words.

Jax stood tall and, staring into Penny’s eyes, said with his voice uncharacteristically nervous, “I would like you to consider the twins’ option, but with a slight alteration.” While everyone waited silently, Jax fidgeted. After Ben gave him a nod telling him to proceed, Jax said, “Quit your job and move in here, but move into my room with me where you belong.”

Penny gave him a shocked expression, not sure how to respond without revealing other secrets. When she stuttered, trying to decide what to say or not say, Jax saved her by adding, “There’s no need to hide our secrets any longer. This is my family and they deserve to know the full truth.”

Before Penny could respond, Taylor asked, “The truth about what?”

Jax answered, “What happened between Penny and I while on our trip. Actually, what has happened between Penny and I since the day we met.”

Penny shook her head and said, “Jax, you don’t have to do this. I made you a promise and I plan to keep it.”

“I need to do this. We should have told everyone the moment we got back.”

While Charlie and Ben smiled, knowing what was coming, Susi looked to Jax and said, “Please, tell us; we’re listening.”

Jax heaved a sigh and said, “I might as well start at the beginning.” He turned to the twins and said, “You were right. The day I met Penny, her life was measured in hours. Like you feared, I snuck into her home while she slept. While hovering over her with my claw ready to slit her throat, she surprised me by waking up. It made me hesitate.”

Taylor looked over at Penny and said, “You never mentioned that Jax tried to kill you.”

She replied, “That’s because I didn’t know. I couldn’t see him.”

Tadd asked, “How could that be? He’s rather hard to miss, even in the dark.”

Jax answered, “That’s because I was invisible.”

Charlie was taken aback by the surprise direction the conversation was going and asked, “What do you mean you were invisible?”

Jax decided it was easier to simply show them than to verbally explain, so he called on his skill and disappeared before their eyes. To prove he was still there, he said from the empty air, “It’s one of my most valuable gifts as a hunter.” He returned to his visible form and added, “It’s been the secret that I haven’t shared with anyone.”

Realizing what this meant, Taylor said angrily, “That explains how you seem to know everything that goes on around here, but if you had Penny in your sights, why didn’t you rip her throat out? She was easy prey.” Glancing at penny, he said, “Sorry Peanut, but it’s true.”

“I stopped because she sensed my presence. No one, Human or Changeling, has ever been able to do that. I decided to let her live that night so that I could figure out if it was some kind of fluke. I came back the next few nights and each time she knew I was there. Somehow she stared right at me no matter where I stood. She even gave me a nickname.”

Taylor jumped to his feet and announced, “Shit! You’re Casper!”

“Yes. While I watched her as her ghost, she talked to me. She shared every inner thought and I became addicted to her voice. I had to learn everything there was about her, so days quickly turned into weeks, which turned into months.”

Tadd said angrily, “All that time, you let us believe that you hated her and wanted her dead.”

“That’s exactly what I wanted you to think. I tried to hate her with every bit of mental strength I possessed, but I wasn’t strong enough to resist her draw.” He looked at Penny and said, “When we traveled together I confessed everything and this wonderful woman not only forgave me, she embraced me. Not just Jax, but the parts of me that are Casper and Ice. Faced with all of my horrors, a miracle happened and she told me something that I never thought I would ever hear.”

Susi, now sitting at the edge of her seat, asked, “What did she say?” Everyone held their breath waiting anxiously for his answer.

Jax replied, “She told me that she loved me. Hearing those words opened up my heart and I realized that I had fallen in love with her as well. I didn’t even know that I was capable of such feelings, especially for a Human.”

Penny added, her voice choked with emotion, “And I still love you and I always will, but we talked about this. You and I could never work. I thought if I stayed away I could get over you, but each day I need you more. No matter how hard I try, I can’t convince my heart otherwise. I can’t stay here without you, but I can’t stay with you without your world finding out. They’ll kill all of you.”