Obsessions (8 page)

Processing this day of events would have to wait for
another day.  Zoey would be upset if she left so quickly after dinner. She
needed to hold on a little while longer for Zoey.

Chapter 9

Ryder jerked his head up at the sounds coming from
London as she ate her salad and steak. The woman was driving him crazy, with the
erotic sounds. She was making him ache. He could feel his teeth elongating as
she continued, unaware that she was doing it.

He looked over to see that the guys were not immune
to her sounds either. If looks told him anything, then Nolan was about to come
in his pants and he wasn’t far behind him. He needed to get control or he was
going to jump over the table and take her right in front of the pack and that
wouldn’t go over well with her grandmother.

Then she stopped and put her fork down. The look on
her face was more than he could take. It was pure innocence. Some women tried
to dress sexy but with London it came naturally. She was without a doubt the
most gorgeous woman he had ever seen.

He couldn’t stand the fact that she was leaving
tonight to go and live in New York. It was her dream and he knew he couldn’t
stand in the way of that. He had to let her go and it was pissing him off so
much that he couldn’t stop it from radiating through his body. He needed to at
least try and talk to her without saying things that would only aggravate her. He
only wanted to help her, but his words came out wrong.

When she moved he could see something sparkle around
her neck. Leaning forward he could see the necklace as it glinted in the light.
Wow. He had only read about it, until Meryl had been kind enough to explain to
him that London’s family was in possession of the Tree of Life. Now he could
see why the magic was so powerful in her.

The necklace was beautiful. It fit the woman who
wore it. He had read in the scribes that this gem was an agate gemstone, and
very powerful, and whoever wore it would be given some type of power, but if
the Tree of Life found you worthy then you would be granted more. He believed
in the power because over the years he had seen witches do some powerful magic.
There were some things that couldn’t be explained even if he had seen it with
his own eyes. Hell, he was a werewolf, and that was magic in words that couldn’t
be explained so easily.

Ryder pointed at her necklace. “Do you know what
your necklace means?”

She glanced up as though unsure he was talking to
her. Reaching up and grabbing her necklace, she cleared her throat and
responded in a sexy raspy tone, “Me-Len gave it to me for graduation.”

“It is beautiful, but do you know the history behind
it?” Ryder asked again.

His voice softened and London seemed wary of him, as
she answered, “It’s an Agate gemstone that was found a long time ago. Our
ancestors found it and passed it down through the generations. It’s called the
Tree of Life.”

Leaning forward until she met his gaze, he filled in
his knowledge of the stone. “It’s said that the family that possesses the Tree
of Life was given powerful magic. The stone doesn’t release this magic just to
anyone in the family. Only one with a pure heart can be worthy of this magic.
Are you that witch, London?” 

* * * *

London let out a short laugh. She couldn’t believe
what he was asking her.
A witch? Of all things? She wasn’t a witch, just a
computer programmer
. To her surprise, no one else was laughing at his
question.

“You can’t honestly believe that I’m a witch?”
London scoffed. When she looked back toward her grandmother for her to confirm
it for Ryder, Me-Len was staring at her hands. She wasn’t a witch. Me-Len was
the witch in the family. She couldn’t cast spells or turn people into toads.

London reached over and touched her grandmother’s
hands. “Tell him, Me-Len, that I’m not a witch.” Her face paled as Me-Len’s
head slowly came up along with the truth.

“You possess the gift, London. You were never
taught, but your magic surrounds you, and when you put the necklace on, I could
see it. It grows brighter on you than on anyone else in the family who has worn
it. Your mother wanted to forget about her gifts and she took you as far away
as she could so that I couldn’t teach any of the old ways to you. I only wanted
to prepare you for what you were born to do.”

London sat there silently in shock. Her mouth had to
be catching some big flies by now for as long as she had it open.
This
couldn’t be true. Her mother would have told her. She told her everything.
Could she really keep this from me?
London’s mind was swirling around with
all this talk about witches and her mother’s deception. She felt sick to her
stomach as she looked up at everyone who was quiet at the table.

She was the center of attention as they waited for
some type of reaction. It was too much, she felt like a freak of nature under a
crowd of accusing gazes. Betrayal burned in her chest, and she felt stupid telling
him about the necklace.

London could feel her face turning red as her
breathing became short and choppy. “Excuse me.”  Rising quickly she headed
toward the restrooms. She remembered seeing an Exit sign next to them.

Grabbing her cell phone out of her pocketbook,
London called a cab service. Luckily, for her a cab was close by and she ran to
the corner to catch it. Jumping into the car, London finally allowed the tears
to fall.

She felt betrayed, embarrassed, and most of all hurt
by her grandmother. She knew everyone thought she was a witch now. She never
imagined that she would do this to her. Today should have been filled with joy
not crying or telling family secrets.

All her bags were packed and in her car when she
arrived at the dorm. She needed to see it one last time before she left.
Looking back, London stared at the room she called home for four years. Taking
it into memory, she closed the door and walked down to her car.

The place she had called home would now be a
reminder of what happened during graduation. Her thoughts felt jumbled and now
she wasn’t even excited about moving to New York anymore. She had dreamed about
it since she was a little girl. Now, her thoughts were of witches, keeping
secrets, and people making fun of her.
Damn It, Me-Len. Why did you have to
say that out loud? Why did that cheeky bastard ask if I was a witch in front of
everyone?

London sat down on the bench outside her dorm and
took one last look at the beautiful campus before she left. She would call Zoey
later and tell her that she needed to leave before she beat the shit out of her
brother. She was so angry. He had been so mean to her all night. The man didn’t
even know her, but throughout the meal, he made her feel like she was nothing
but a freak show.

It had to be the background check. He found out
something and now thought she wasn’t good enough for Zoey to be around. She was
good and pissed now, but she couldn’t shake the underlying feeling of sorrow.
Since Ryder didn’t like London, the chances of spending Thanksgiving and
Christmas together with Zoey were extinct.
Boy did he play you. Made you
look like a complete fool.
Zoey probably believed she was a witch too since
her brother just called her out in the restaurant.

Right now, all she could think about was driving as
far away as she could. Her emotions were so close to the surface that she
wanted to beat someone to a pulp.

Taking in deep breaths, London closed her eyes. She
opened them again at the sound of a stick hitting the ground, surprised to find
a man walking toward her slowly. He was dressed in old blue jeans, and a brown
button-down shirt and he walked with a limp. The cane he used looked different
from any of the others she had seen before. This one was hand made out of a
piece of driftwood.

He had been looking around at the trees as he walked
until his eyes focused on her. He looked surprised to see her sitting there on
the bench. London glanced down at her hands, hoping he would just pass her by.

“Hello. Do you mind if I sit down?” The man asked.
London moved so the man could sit down beside her. She half smiled at him as he
sat down.

“Sorry if I startled you,” she said.

“No, you didn’t startle me. I come here around this
time and never see any students around. I’m glad to have someone to talk to.”
London smiled at him, but not knowing what to say, she glanced down at his
cane.

Apparently, the man thought she was looking at his
leg so he pulled up his pants to show London the titanium rod that replaced his
leg.

“I like to walk around here this time of the day
when most students are inside or gone for the summer. Why are you still here?”
The man asked. London didn’t have the heart to tell him it was none of his
business and for some reason the man put her at ease.

“I graduated today and I was looking at the campus
one last time before I headed out. I spent four years here and I loved it. I
will miss it,” she answered. They both sat silently looking out at the quiet
campus.

“I lost my leg last year in Iraq, and the doctors
said that I needed to walk with the new leg so I could get used to it. I live
nearby and love the campus and the peace it brings to me. Plus, if no one is
here then they can’t stare at me while I walk. I feel useless enough, but
coming here, looking at the trees makes me feel better for some reason.”

London didn’t know why the man was telling her his
story, but he made her want to listen. The man stopped talking for a few
minutes as the wind blew a breeze across their face. London tilted her head
back and closed her eyes. She waited for him to continue with his story.

“We’d heard that they would put explosives on the
kids and then send them out into a crowd of American soldiers, but this kid was
a survivor. He walked with a cane too just like this one.” London looked down as
the man showed her the cane.

“It’s pretty and different. I like it a lot.” London
whispered. Listening to the story broke her heart. It didn’t take a genius to
figure out what happened but she didn’t push him into explaining his story.

“I happened to be walking out of one of the houses
we were checking when this kid walked up on his cane. He looked at me just
before the bomb went off that was strapped onto him under his clothes. For that
brief second, I could see the sorrow in his eyes, like he didn’t have a choice.
All I remember was an explosion and being thrown backwards into the house. I
guess what saved me was the door to the house was still open and the blast
drove me inside. But my leg had too much damage to it and they had to take it
off. Now I can’t work.  Nobody will hire me. I was a cop before I got deployed
and not being able to run and jump…well, they didn’t have to tell me they
didn’t have a place for a cripple.” London turned her head so the man couldn’t
see the tear that dropped out of her eye. He didn’t need her pity or sympathy.
He needed to feel like he belonged and mattered in the world.

“What did you do with the police department?” she
asked.

“I was a detective. I loved taking one small clue
and putting all the pieces together and solving a case.” The man smiled as he
continued to tell London his story. She could tell that he missed his work.

“I’m sorry, my name is London Grey.” London held her
hand out to the man. He looked down at London’s hand and smiled.

“It’s nice to meet you London my name is Mac. Mac
Evans.” Mac shook London’s hand then turned back around and continued to stare
out into the campus grounds.

“Well Mac, I’ve got to go, but I may need someone
not with the police department, that can help me sometime. Do you have a cell
phone where I can reach you if I want to chat?” Mac Evans stared at London like
she had an eye missing. She couldn’t help but laugh, and then got her cell
phone out to show she was serious.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Mac asked surprised.

“Yes sir. A missing leg doesn’t hinder a person from
using their mind. The brain is the most powerful weapon there is, Mr. Evans. Can
I have your number?” London asked, and then started punching his name in her
phone to add his number. She didn’t know why she trusted this man, but she did.
If he turned out to be serial killer she would toss her phone and get another
one, but right now, her gut feeling told her that Mac Evans was a man of worth.

Mac continued to stare at London, as he stuttered
his number out. She reached down and touched his shoulder.

“Mac?” He looked back up at her. “Never ever let
anyone tell you that you can’t do something.”

With that comment, London smiled then turned around
to leave.  She stopped but didn’t turn around. “And Mac, I
will
be in
touch with you soon. Have a great day.” London continued to walk to her car. 
Today had been a strange day but listening to Mac’s story ended her pity party.

Chapter
10

London shut her phone off before she left for New
York. She knew Me-Len would be calling her along with Zoey, but she was too mad
to talk to them. She needed to calm down and getting her thoughts straight
before she called either one of them back, but she felt guilty for leaving her
grandmother and best friend without so much as a goodbye.

She drove until she couldn’t drive anymore. Her
emotions were all over the place and she needed to sleep a few hours before she
hit the road again. Pulling into a cheap motel, she paid for one night and took
her overnight bag in with her. Looking around at the room she almost gagged
when the smell of cigarettes hit her as she sat down on the bed.

She knew she needed to call them, but still she
resisted, opting for a hot shower instead. London got up and headed for the
dingy bathroom. It was small, but looked fairly clean. She held the towel up to
her nose and smelled it to see if it was clean, then turned the shower on hot
and got in. All the emotions and uncertainty dripped off her body as the water
went down the drain.

When she finally climbed out, she was thinking about
Ryder again, and how he seemed to want to fight with her. She felt like she had
whiplash during dinner. One moment he spoke in demanding, ruthless tones as he
called her a witch, but just an hour before he had acted concerned as she lay
on the bathroom floor. Maybe she was a witch. After learning her best friend
was a werewolf she figured, anything was possible. London lay in the bed
wondering if she should call this late. Taking a chance she dialed Zoey’s cell
phone.

She answered it on the first ring. “London, is that
you? Are you alright?”

Sighing, London could hear the concern in her best
friend’s voice. “I’m fine. I’m sorry, Zoey, but I just couldn’t take it
anymore. Your br—”

Zoey cut her off before she could finish. “I know he
was an ass. I cussed him out when we realized you left town. I’m sorry for how
he treated you, London. He had no right to question you about being a witch,
and Jena shouldn’t have been there period. Where are you?”

“I’ve got about five more hours until I get to New
York. I stopped at a small hotel, so that I could sleep for a while, then get
up in the morning and drive on. Was Me-Len upset?”

“No London, she wasn’t mad at you. She was mad at
herself. She knows how you value your privacy and she felt bad because she
didn’t do it in private. I made sure she got home safely.” London felt like
shit now.

“Zo? I’m sorry and thank you for that. I let my
temper get the best of me and I allowed your brother to—”

“You stop right there. You are not in the wrong
here. They are. My brother has never acted like that before. He was worried
sick after you left. He knew he had screwed up. I’m sorry, London. Really I
am.  I pushed you into going to eat with us and messed up your special day.”

“No you didn’t. Hey, let’s not talk about it
anymore. Look Zo, I need to get off the phone and get some sleep. I will call
Me-Len tomorrow. It’s too late to do that now.”

“Uhm. London?

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry. I really didn’t know.” London could hear
the sorrow in Zoey’s voice as she apologized.

“It’s okay Zoey. I need to go. I’m exhausted and
I’ve got a big drive ahead of me in a few hours. It’s out there now but I don’t
feel like talking about it right now. I’ll call you when I get to New York.” London
hung up the phone before Zoey could continue to apologize to her for her
brother’s actions. She didn’t deserve the way Ryder treated her tonight but for
some reason he didn’t like her. She figured she would just stay away from him
and maybe ask Zoey to come to New York for the holidays.

London climbed into the bed worried that this was
how her life was going to turn out. Chaos. Nothing seemed to be going in the
right direction. Then she remembered Mac’s story, and how the kid befriended
the soldiers, before using as a bomb to blow them up. Mac said that they had
been warned, that the Taliban used kids to hurt the soldiers. How could they
train against that? London lay awake for hours trying to think of a way to help
Mac and others before she finally fell asleep.