Riding the Storm (13 page)

“Explain who you are and why you’re here,
now
.”

Eric came sprinting into the yacht through the open door,
stopping when he saw Kendra, his eyes wide.

“Umm, Kendra, please let him go. This is my uncle.”

Kendra immediately relaxed her grip on the man’s arms enough
to stop hurting him, but didn’t let him up, yet. “Your uncle? Were you
expecting him?”

“No, but he has a key and it’s never been a problem before,
for him to let himself in. It wouldn’t have been this time, either if you
hadn’t, err, realized someone was here.”

Kendra released him, stood, and stepped back.

The man stood, keeping a wary eye on Kendra as he spoke to
his nephew. “Eric, is this your girlfriend? And if so, then what the
hell
have you gotten yourself into?”

“Hi, Ranger. I’d like to introduce you to Kendra. Kendra,
this is my Uncle, Ranger.”

Ranger stood with his arms loose at his sides and tried not
to let his nephew know she’d hurt him. He pulled it off visually, but she could
smell differently. As a werewolf, though, he’d be able to heal quickly, thank
goodness.

Kendra felt like she should apologize, but wasn’t really
sure what to say. Ranger knew she was a vampire, but she didn’t think Eric knew
his uncle was a werewolf, so Eric wouldn’t know Ranger could smell her and know
what she was.

Eric filled in the silence with, “Kendra, I told you my
uncle is spec ops. I doubt anyone has single-handedly taken him down in
decades, so he’s probably wondering what kind of training you’ve had, and how
you managed to sneak up on him and immobilize him.”

No, he wasn’t wondering, but she couldn’t explain why not.
Instead, she turned to Ranger and said, “I’m sorry if I hurt you. I thought you
were an intruder. I feel bad we seem to’ve gotten off on the wrong foot, should
I let you knock me down so we’ll be even?”

Ranger was standing at alert, as if he expected her to
attack again at any minute, and he’d be ready for her this time. He glanced at
Eric, but quickly brought his eyes back to Kendra, fully prepared for another
attack.

“How much do you know about this woman, Eric? What has she
told you she does for a living?”

Eric sighed. “Ranger, I’m
really
not up for the third
degree about Kendra right now. She took you down, your ego is bruised, end of
story. Let’s all get a drink and get to know each other.
Nicely
, with
manners. And, as happy as I am to see you, why didn’t you let me know you were
coming?”

Ranger’s jaw muscle flexed, and he finally looked away from
Kendra and towards Eric. “I wasn’t planning on retiring from the government,
but an elite security company offered me a fantastic job opportunity, and I’ve
been working for them overseas. I couldn’t tell you, because they didn’t want
it widely known I’d retired until I finished the initial assignment they hired me
to do.” He eyed Kendra a few seconds, as if debating whether she could hear
this, and must’ve decided she could. “The assignment ended unexpectedly and
they got me out of the country in a hurry, and brought me home on the company
plane. Lucky for us, their home office is in Chattanooga. Sorry I didn’t have
time to let you know, but since I’m here, I thought I’d drop in for surprise
visit. I’m just here for a debrief before I head back out on a closely related
assignment. I don’t know how long I’ll be in town.”

If Ranger was working for Aaron Drake, she could get Abbott
to find out about him. Kendra relaxed a little, knowing Aaron was particular
about the kind of men he let represent his company.

“No idea? Days, or weeks?” Eric asked his uncle.

“Probably less than a week, possibly only a day or two. If
you have plans, I can stay somewhere else.”

Kendra stood. “Since the two of you aren’t going to have
much time to spend together, I’ll leave you alone so you can catch up.”

Eric put his arm around her. “Actually, if you could stick
around a bit, I’d like you to get to know Ranger a little, and I’d kind of like
for him to have a better impression of you than the one your knee probably left
in his back. He’s family, and you’re important to me. Please, stay for a while.”

She couldn’t help but smile as she told him, “Well, since
you asked nice, I guess I kind of have to.”

As they all took a seat, Ranger asked, “So Kendra, what do
you do for a living?”

“I’m kind of independently wealthy, but I like to keep busy,
so I work with a friend who owns several bars and restaurants in town. Most
recently, I’ve been opening another bar for him downtown. Just something to do
to occupy my time and stay busy, mostly.”

“How did you become independently wealthy?”

“I used to work as an assassin, and it paid
really
well.”

He raised his eyebrows, not believing her, but waiting for
her to say whatever came next. She gave something between a grin and a glare.
“Sorry, but it sounded like the kind of answer you were looking for. The truth
is kind of boring — I got an inheritance and invested it wisely. I
continue to make more money than I spend, and if I can keep doing so then I’ll
never have to find a regular job. I’m not dating Eric for his money.”

“Most people who haven’t killed aren’t eager to claim they
have.”

The guilty dog barks the loudest, so proclaiming to have
never killed wouldn’t be wise. Besides, she didn’t want to lie to him, probably
best to try to turn the tables. “Spoken by someone who
has
killed?”

He just observed her again, probably noting she hadn’t
denied killing. “You say you aren’t dating Eric for his money, which hints
there’s another reason you’re dating him. Why
are
you dating my nephew?”

She caught the undercurrent of possession. His wolf claimed
Eric as his, and if she tried to claim him, there could be a problem.

Eric wasn’t aware of the undercurrents, but he still took
offense. “Ranger! You’re getting out of—”

“No, Eric,” Kendra interrupted. “It’s okay, I can answer his
questions. I like knowing you have someone who loves you enough to give me the
third degree.”

Kendra hadn’t looked away from Ranger as she spoke to Eric,
and she kept her eyes on him as she answered his question. “Because he’s so
alive, so full of energy,
life
. He doesn’t let fear hold him back
— if he wants to do something, he does it. I enjoy spending time with
him. We’re still figuring things out, but I guess we’re both hoping we can find
a way to make things work.”

“Why might things not work?”

Kendra looked at Eric, then back at Ranger, debating the
best way to answer without lying. “That’s kind of personal, but since you
asked, I’m infertile and Eric wants kids.”

Ranger looked shocked, and his focus switched to Eric.
“You’ve let a relationship get to the point where you’re talking about kids and
I don’t know about it? You told me you were seeing someone, but... “

Eric shrugged. “Sorry, I didn’t want to jinx things.”

Ranger eyed him a few seconds before changing the subject.
“Well, it’s close to midnight now and I have to be at work at nine tomorrow
morning. I can stay up a couple of hours, but should probably head to bed
around two in the morning or so.”

Eric looked at Ranger’s bottle. “I see you’ve already helped
yourself to some beer, I’ll get one for me. Kendra, wine?”

“Yes, please.”

Alone with him, but not out of earshot of Eric, Kendra
asked, “So Ranger, where did you fly in from?”

His smile was feral, and he let his wolf look out his eyes
as he answered, “Sorry, my location is usually classified information.”

“Ah. Well then, what are you doing for this security
company?”

“They handle security details for some pretty famous people,
and they have contracts with major corporations to set up their security
systems, as well as to offer additional manpower for special events.”

“When we hire bouncers for the bars we have to be careful
about hiring ex-military. We like for our bouncers to defuse a situation, and
ex-military usually just wants to toss people out on their ass. So, I guess I
find it odd that a security company is looking to hire from the military for
that kind of work.”

Knowing Aaron Drake and the jobs he handled, she didn’t find
it odd at all, but wanted to hear his response.

“I’m not the kind of ex-military you’re used to seeing.
Defusing situations is one of the things I’m trained for. I’m also trained to
kill everyone en masse if the situation can’t be neutralized, of course, but in
many cases a political solution is much preferred over wholesale slaughter.”

Kendra raised her eyebrows. “Indeed. What languages do you
speak?”

“Sorry, that’s information they’d prefer I not tell civilians.”

“Well, if I can’t make small talk by asking questions then
I’m not sure what to say at this point. Maybe you can tell me embarrassing
stories of Eric growing up?”

“Ah, like the time he jumped off the roof of the house
holding a sheet over his head like a parachute? He was about seven or eight at
the time. I thought his mom was going to kill me, since I’d let him come watch
us jump earlier in the week.”

Kendra laughed. “Yeah, that’s the kind of stuff I want to
hear.” She looked at Eric as he returned. “Were you hurt?”

“I jumped off a two story house onto hard dirt, of
course
I was hurt. And when mom got me home from the emergency room with a cast on one
ankle and a wrap on the other, she took a belt to my ass before she gave me the
pain pills, just to make
sure
I didn’t do it again.”

Ranger laughed. “She threatened to take a belt to my ass,
too. I told her I’d just enjoy it too much, and she got pissed and told me to
get the hell out of her house.”

Kendra let her eyebrows lift in question, and Ranger grinned
at her reaction. “No, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it. She knew I had some sexual
kinks, but didn’t know what they were, so I figured I could throw her off
balance — and it worked. Kind of.”

“How much older are you than Eric?”

“Eleven years. I tried to be a father figure to him during
his teen years when his dad couldn’t be around, but in a lot of ways I guess I
was more big brother than father figure.”

“Then I’d guess one of the reasons you accepted this job was
because it put you in a city Eric has chosen to spend a lot of time in?”

“It was certainly part of it, though I knew I’d be off on
assignments most of the time. I know there’s no guarantee he won’t find another
city with even more fun to be had, but he’s spent a good bit of time here for
several years, and it seems to have turned into kind of his home base. Once I
decided I wasn’t going to stay in the military forever, this firm seemed a
no-brainer since they’re one of the world’s most elite private security
companies. The fact their home office is here was just icing on the cake.”

Kendra excused herself around one thirty, to be sure the men
had some time to talk without her around. Eric walked her to her car, and held
her head to his chest as he said, “I’m sorry we didn’t get to come home and
make love. I was looking forward to it.”

She pulled back, gave him a peck on the lips, and said,
“There’ll be plenty of time later. Spend time with your uncle.”

His goodbye kiss made her want to fly him to the top of the
hill and ravage him, but she slid into her car and headed home.

She contacted Abbott as she drove.

Abbott? Are you where you can talk?

Yes, Kendra. Everything okay?

Yes, I’m fine. Eric’s uncle showed up, and he says he
works for a local elite security company. He’s ex-special-ops, so I’m guessing
he works for Drake. Can you get with him and see what you can find out about
someone named Ranger? He’s a werewolf, so he realized I’m a vampire. Neither of
us said anything to tip Eric off, so I don’t think Eric knows what his uncle
is.

I’ll talk to Aaron and let you know what he says.

When Kendra arrived home, she noted a car she didn’t
recognize parked out front. As she drove by, she saw a New York license plate.

The vampires all parked in either the huge garage, or in an
area at the back of the house designed so you couldn’t see how many cars were
there from the front. This was an elite, high-dollar neighborhood, built around
a golf course, and it would be best if no one realized how many people lived
here.

Only people who’d never been to the house before parked in
front.

Kendra parked and entered through the back door as always,
and went through to the great room, curious about who the visitor might be.

As she walked in, she froze. Several seconds later, she
managed to say, “Norris,” in a normal voice.

Norris got up and walked to her, hugging her. “Hello, love.”

“But, I thought you were... we all thought you were...”

“Dead. Yes, I know. To be honest, I’m still not sure how I
managed to pull myself back together.” He gave her a gentle smile and caressed
her cheek, his eyes looking her over as if he’d truly missed her and couldn’t
believe he was finally with her again. “I just know I woke up nearly five
hundred years later, underground. I dug my way out and stayed in Romania a
while, until I could build up some wealth again, then moved around Europe,
looking for you. It wasn’t until I made it to the United States that I finally
heard word of where I might find you. I’ve been in New York a few months, and I
thought about calling first, but I really wanted to see you when we first made
contact.”

Stunned, she let him hold her as she tried to process the
fact he was alive. She’d mourned him all those years ago — she’d once
loved him with all of her heart. And now, here he was, standing in front of
her, his strong, lithe arms around her.

But, what about Eric? He’d said they weren’t exclusive, but
she knew Norris wouldn’t feel the same about Eric… not unless Eric was
officially her human companion, anyway.

Plus, the last time she and Norris had been together, she’d
been submissive to him. In fact, he was the last man she’d submitted to, until
Eric. She was pretty sure she was more powerful than Norris now — would
he be interested in a relationship where she was the more powerful one? She
wasn’t sure.

“Norris, I don’t know what to say. I’m in shock, I think.
And, it’s been so long.” She hugged him, luxuriated in the feel of him for a
brief second, and then forced herself to let go and step back. “I’m really glad
you’re alive. Have you met with Abbott yet to get safe passage in his
territory? He didn’t mention you were coming — did you ask him to keep it
a surprise?”

“No, I haven’t spoken with The Abbott, yet. I wanted this to
be a surprise, so I’d know how you reacted, and I couldn’t be sure he’d honor
my request. Thus far, your reaction isn’t making me feel all warm and fuzzy,
Kendaline.”

Kendra opened herself up so Abbott could hear the
conversation. “Norris, it’s been over a thousand years! You must give me a
chance to put all of this together. Meanwhile, I can’t believe you went into a
territory without obtaining permission from the Master of that territory! I
hope you didn’t think I’d make everything okay since I happen to be third in
command here. It’s Abbott you’ve insulted, not me, and it’s Abbott you’ll have
to deal with.”

Norris just looked at her, as if he didn’t believe what he
was hearing.

And then Kendra realized... “Wait, Gavin’s out of town,
making me temporarily the second in command. You really
did
think I’d
make everything right with Abbott for you, didn’t you? Dammit, Norris! You
can’t walk in here and take advantage of me first thing! I’m not the same woman
I was a thousand years ago. I suggest you get on the phone,
now
, and
grovel to Abbott, as I refuse to intercede. Once the two of you figure it out,
then
you and I can talk.
Maybe
.”

She stepped into the center of the great room and looked at
the vampires. “I don’t know who’s been talking to him, who told him when Gavin
would be gone, and where the house was, but I suggest you do your own groveling
with Abbott.”

Kendra turned and went through the kitchen, into the pantry,
and then opened the hidden door to the basement and her suite of rooms. Twenty
minutes later, she heard Abbott in her head.

Kendra, it’s too close to dawn to send him away, so I
gave Fawne permission to put him on the top floor for the day, and he’s been
told to leave my territory as soon as he arises. He may then call me from
Kentucky to negotiate entry in the proper manner, if he wishes. The irony here
is that if he’d called me before he came, I’d have let him in with no
negotiations.

Right, but this is Norris, and he’s never been one to
respect rules or authority when he can get around it. I’d just as soon you not
offer him passage into the territory for a while, if you can do it without
causing political problems with Marco up in New York. I can’t believe I once
loved him as I did, Abbott. And when he hugged me, I still felt something for
him, but I guess I’ve grown up, finally. I’m not attracted to the bad boys
anymore, and he was always a very bad boy. I just need to stay away from him.

I’ll call Marco, and will let you know what he has to
say.

Kendra went to her bathroom to draw herself a bath. She had
a huge tub, and when she was upset, she took a hot bath. She carried her cell
phone to the bathroom and sat it on the table beside the tub, just in case
someone she wanted to talk to called.

She hadn’t been in long when she heard Abbott in her head
again.

Marco isn’t very happy with Norris right now. He’s
calling him all the way home to be dealt with. Marco says if I don’t want to
offer Norris passage into my territory later, he won’t take it personally,
under the circumstances.

Thanks, Abbott.

Norris is asking to talk to you while he’s here tonight,
before he has to leave upon arising.

Of course he is.
She started to refuse, but changed
her mind. Norris wouldn’t be back anytime soon, and she still cared enough
about him to want to know how he was doing, and what he was up to at home.
Okay,
tell them I’ll be up when I’ve finished my bath. I don’t want him to have
access to the basement, if that’s okay with you.

You’re correct, it wouldn’t be appropriate. I’ll let them
know you’ll be up in a while to talk to him.

Kendra took another twenty minutes in the tub, and then
dried off and dressed in a designer, flowing, pantsuit and some of her favorite
shoes before going upstairs to talk to Norris. She needed all the
self-confidence she could muster to face him and not let him make her fall in
love with him all over again. She was
not
the same woman she was back
then, and she didn’t want to go back.

When she stepped into the great room he was sitting on the
sofa talking to a couple of the younger vampires, but he stopped in
mid-sentence to look at her.

“Abbott said you wanted to talk to me tonight before you
went home tomorrow?” she asked.

“Kendaline, I’m sorry I came like this... I just thought...
I’m sorry. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?”

“Yes, but I’m not taking you there. If you want to talk then
I suggest you begin talking, and, I go by Kendra now, as I’m sure you’ve been
told.”

“I’ve changed, too, Kendra. It’s been more than a thousand
years for both of us. I know we may have changed so much we can’t make it work
now, but I still felt something when we hugged.” His eyes looked serious, sad.
“I still want you, and I’d like to take the time to get to know you again, see
if we are still compatible. We were once planning to marry, Kendra. What if
there is still something to build on?”

“Norris, just go home and deal with your own Master, and
then work on negotiating whatever you can with Abbott. Once upon a time, I took
great pleasure skirting the rules, and you and I got along great. But now I’m
one of the people in charge, responsible for enforcing the rules and keeping
some order amongst our people. I’ve grown and changed, and I can’t imagine how
a relationship with you could possibly work.”

“Okay, Kendra, but... the moon is almost new. What about a
night flight together? For the sake of old times? We still have time before
dawn.”

After sharing just that with Eric tonight, she didn’t want
to do it again with Norris. “No, but I’ll spend some time with you since you’re
here for the rest of the night with Abbott’s permission. We have a nice garden
area outside, let’s go into the night air and talk.”

Kendra kept a few feet between them, and Norris didn’t push
to keep her closer. They walked the gardens and then sat in a seating area, in
separate chairs. She found out he was working off Broadway as a dancer —
he’d had to start his own theater in order to do it, and no one who knew him as
a dancer realized he owned the theater, but it was the only way to be sure all
rehearsals and shows would take place at night. The director only knew the
theater owner had wanted to hand pick a few people, and Norris was one of the
dancers he’d specifically wanted.

Norris was an incredible dancer and entertainer, and she was
happy for him. When they went inside thirty minutes before dawn, he took her
into his arms and kissed her, and she let him, though she kept a tight lock on
her emotions and thoughts. She felt Norris trying to share his, but whatever
bond they’d once had, he could no longer share if she didn’t let him in.

Kendra was indeed more powerful than him, now, and Norris
had to keep the kiss sweet and tender, as he was no longer strong enough
metaphysically to dominate her. However, the kiss still told her this was the
same Norris she’d once loved, and the chemistry was there. She sighed inwardly
and reminded herself he had a life in New York, and her life was here. Not to
mention, she couldn’t see Norris ever choosing to submit to anyone sexually.

When the kiss ended she took a step back, unsure of what to
say, and he asked, “Are you seeing anyone, my love?”

Kendra wasn’t exactly sure how to answer, but she knew her
housemates could hear, so she answered for their benefit. “I’m grooming a human
companion, at the moment.”

“Be safe, then, and as soon as I fix things with Marco, I’ll
see what I need to do to convince The Abbott to allow me back in his territory.
I’m sorry for the way I came, and I won’t make the same mistake again.”

Kendra wished Eric hadn’t been so clear they weren’t
exclusive, because then she’d have had a reason to not kiss Norris goodbye
— and their final kiss practically made her come undone.