Stalked (Rogues Shifter #2) (30 page)

Chapter Twenty-five

Garrett and Sasha had been playing pool in the basement so when Heinrich and William woke up, they went out to feed together. Garrett came upstairs
first to remind us that we were not to leave the house.

An hour later, having grown tired of Kyle winning every single Mario Kart game, we decided to turn on a monster movie marathon playing on a local TV station. Ethan made popcorn and brought it up in a huge bowl which we passed around and managed to spill everywhere. Of course, Samson didn’t mind at all that we were dropping popcorn on the floor and the couch. Ethan had fed him his regular meal when he was downstairs, but he still wolfed down each stray buttery kernel.

“He is not going to thank you for feeding him popcorn when he is constipated tomorrow.” Liam was standing in the doorway, grinning and looking much more like himself. He had his long golden blonde hair tied back out of his face and was still wearing my sweatpants and tee shirt, which looked better on him than me.

“Hey Liam. Nice look. Are the Fae going more for workout wear these days?” Kyle got along great with Liam, although on the surface they were pretty much opposites.

“Actually, the Elders thought that we would get some piercings and tats and wear the same black jeans and graphic tee shirt everyday just to change it up a little.” Liam’s voice was mimicking Kyle’s exactly, so after a shocked pause, we all broke out in hysterical laughter.

“Man that was good! You should work Vegas. Can you do Ethan?” Kyle was wiping away tears.

He grinned. “Sorry, but I will never ‘do’ Ethan.”

My mouth dropped open. He’d made a racy joke.

Kyle snorted. “Very funny, you know what I mean.”

In Ethan’s exact rich tone, Liam said, “Kyle, if you don’t change your outfit once in
a while, I’m throwing you off the team and calling in the “What Not to Wear” consultants.”

“Holy Shit. How do you do that? Can you do my voice?” Sinc asked.

“I cannot mimic women’s voices. It is not a typical fae talent, but it has been useful on occasion. Brina can mimic anyone’s voice and she is able to change her appearance to become an exact copy of that person. Even their scent. It is extraordinary.”

I asked, “Are you hungry
? There are plenty of leftovers. Come downstairs with me.” We left the others to their monster marathon and I heated up some steak, veggies and potatoes for Liam. I sat with him while he ate, Samson curled by my feet.

“You haven’t slept for long.”

“I have plenty of time to sleep, thanks to your hospitality. I woke up hungry.” I was so relieved to see that his aura had returned to its usual clear gold with that perfect emerald ring along the outside that designated him a healer.

“The gang is staying upstairs until you fae get your hands on Kennet and he’s out of my hair.”

“
You
fae?” he laughed.

The d
oorbell rang. I was not particularly happy to see Bridgett standing on my doorstep, but I let her in anyway. “You should call first.”

“I did but it went right to voicemail.”

“I have a landline phone too. Maya has the number.”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to talk to you.”

“Well, come into the kitchen. Ethan, Sinc and Kyle are upstairs watching a movie.

I didn’t mention Liam because I figured she might make a run for it. It was as good a time as any for them to clear the air. Liam stood up as we entered the kitchen, probably not craving a confrontation, and Bridgett froze as soon as she saw him. “Bridgett, please sit down. You too, please, Liam.  They did and I sat down between them.

Liam did
not
look happy so I sent to him,
“I didn’t plan this, no matter how it looks to you. She came over without calling
first.
We’ll talk for three minutes and then I’ll send her upstairs to play with the other kids.”
I grinned and I saw the corner of his mouth twitch.

I spoke to them both. “So here’s the story. You’re going to be bumping into each other when you’re around me but I don’t want to be worrying about you two all the time.” Liam was quietly intense and Bridgett looked terrified. In yet another episode of ‘Déjà Vu of Our Lives’, I said, “Just agree to be civil to ea
ch other, for my sake please?”

“Can I say something to you, Liam?” Bridgett was looking at him warily. He nodded but his expression revealed nothing.

“You tortured my dad. Then you killed him.”

There was no anger in his voice. “Yes. He tortured m
y people, for six long months.”

She nodded, as if not wanting to proceed unless she was sure. “I don’t know if I can forgive you for that, but I still want to thank you for giving me another chance. I’m sorry. I should have told someone. I’ll do whatever the Elders decide I should do.” She said this whole speech looking at him directly. It took a
lot of courage and I was proud of her.

Liam spoke quietly. “You should thank your sister and the fae prisoners who decided to have mercy on you. I would not have shown you any mercy, other than a quick and
relatively painless death.”

“I'
d like to thank the prisoners, and apologize to them.”

He arched an eyebrow.” Are you telling me seriously that you would apologize to them in person: the fae who were tortur
ed by your father and by you?”

“Yes.”

“I will ask them if they would accept a formal apology from you. I can arrange a meeting. There is a ritual involved which is not always pleasant, but your slate would be wiped clean and your two years of service would be much easier. It would be a new beginning between you and me as well, Bridgett.”

She nodded and looked a little terrified. “I’ll do it, if you think I should.” She looked down at the floor.

I sent to her,
“Has Maya been talking to you about the Fae?”

‘She told me that if I didn’t straighten this out, my life would suck for the next two years. I’d rather not be cleaning toilets for them. I think I can be put to much better use.”

Of course she didn’t realize that Liam heard what she’d said. She didn’t know how to block other psychics out to have a completely private conversation. He asked her, “What use do you think you are suited for?”

She blushed bright red and looked down at her lap. “I’m good with computers…and languages.”

“Really, languages?” He was interested.

“I speak some Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese and Greek.”

“You do?” I was in shock this time.

“Yeah my dad was really good at languages too. He knew some Fae, but didn’t teach me any.”

I could see the wheels turning in Liam’s mind. I said,  “Bridgett, why don’t you go upstairs to say hi to the others?”

“Sure
. I’ll see you later.” She gave Liam a feeble wave and then raced out of the room and up the stairs.

“Interpreters are always useful to us. I wonder how quickly she can learn some basic Fae?”

I shrugged just in time to see Garrett and the other vamps walking into the kitchen through the back patio doors. Sasha hissed with excitement when he saw Liam and sat right down at the kitchen table across from him. He took in a long, deep breath.

“There’s nothing like fae blood for dessert.” His blue eyes sparkled with a touch of silver and he licked his lips as his fangs popped out. Garrett shook his head and smiled, knowing that Liam was more than capable of
holding his own against Sasha.

Liam leaned over the table toward Sasha, his voice low and threatening. “Or one hu
ndred year old vampire blood.” We all felt Liam pull up a large shot of energy from the lines as his eyes swirled with gold. Vicious looking fangs grew out of his mouth, much longer than Sasha’s. (Must be a guy thing.) Wicked looking claws appeared where his fingernails had been and his expression could only be described as hungry.

Sasha hissed softly feeling the intensity of the magic and knowing the threat it represented. He tilted his head in acknowledgement of the superior power surrounding Liam and smiled. His voi
ce was husky. “You win, fae.  But you don’t know what you’re missing.”

Liam was back to normal in a heartbeat. “And I never will, vampire.” Liam leaned back and relaxed into his chair. A battle was fought and an accord reached without the two of them leaving the kitchen or even standing up. Welcome to my world.

Garrett sat down next to me and kissed my cheek. “Heinrich, Sasha, William, this is Liam. He is a trusted friend and I expect you to treat him with the same respect you give me and Jackie. Liam, this is my nest: Sasha Vodinski, Heinrich Schultz and William Carlyle. I apologize for Sasha’s behavior.” The look he gave Sasha was not friendly.

“I apologize, Liam.” Sasha didn’t seem fazed by Garrett’s glare.

“I accept your apology, Sasha Vodinski.” Liam was grinning. I think he’d had some fun.

“Do you play pool
?” Sasha smiled angelically.

“Yes, Sasha. I like the game very much.”

“Excellent. Would you like to play Heinrich and me? We also—like the game very much.” He was making fun of the way Liam spoke. “You can play too, Will.” Sasha’s comment was thrown out at the last minute making it obvious to everyone where William stood in the downstairs pecking order.

“Thanks, but I have work to do on the computer.” William had been working hard at familiarizing himself with modern computer programming.

“I think I
would
like to join you, Sasha. Do you play for money?” Liam was smiling playfully. I was pretty sure he was going to clean them out.

“Oh yes, we do play for money.” They stood and started downstairs and I had to giggle watching Heinrich and Sasha winking at each other as if they had this one in the bag. William followed them down, probably heading to the computer in his room.

“Sasha.” Garrett’s voice was firm.

Sasha stopped on the stairs. There were a few moments of silence and then he bowed his head and said, “Yes Garrett, of course.”

Now there was only me, Garrett and Samson in the kitchen. The team and Bridgett were upstairs and Liam and the vamps were downstairs. Garrett put Liam’s plate in the dishwasher while I called Maya to come and pick up Bridgett.

We needed alone time very badly, which was practically impossible with a house full of supernaturals. Today had been emotionally draining and exhausting
, so when Garrett whispered in my ear, “I’ll fill the bath tub,” there was only one possible response.

“Perfect.” I answered. Maya said she’d be here in fifteen minutes so I told Bridgett to listen for the honk and then joined Garrett in the huge tub full of bubbles.

“Do you feel better with our team here in the house?” Garrett was massaging my foot. Oh man that felt so good.

“Yeah, I’m having fun with them. Liam was even joking around with us.” I told him what had gone on upstairs.

He smiled and laughed softly. “You know, spending time with the shifters is good for him. He’s half human and shifters are the supernatural group that is most like humans.” I sighed with pleasure as he began working on the other foot.  His eyes crinkled up when I picked up one of his and dug my thumb into his arch.

When he ran his hand up to massage my calf, still a little red from Kennet’s attack, I frowned as I rem
embered the pain and the fear. He noticed the change in my mood so he released my leg and pulled me into his arms, kissing the top of my head and rubbing my back with his soapy hand. “You’re safe, Jackie. He won’t hurt you again.”

I so wanted to believe that was true.

Chapter Twenty-six

The next day I woke up at around 11:00 AM, having crashed out early after our bath. I hugged Garrett’s still form and kissed his delicious mouth, then jumped into the shower. Poking my head into my bedroom, I saw that Liam was up and out, so I dressed in jeans and a tank top and then retrieved another pair of sweatpants and a new tee from one of my drawers to loan to Liam. He was making breakfast and Ethan and Kyle were shoveling it into their mouths in record time, moaning with pleasure. I saw that he’d made his famous omelets with his secret sauce and also his just-as-famous home fried potatoes. I had to admit that I'd be eating as enthusiastically in about two minutes. But first, coffee.

After I got myself a mug of heavy-duty caffeine and a plate of Liam’s hau
te cuisine, I asked, “How did the pool game go?”

He grinned evilly. “I do not think that Sasha or Heinrich will be asking me to play again anytime soon. I do not think they realized that I can make the ball go where I want it to go.”

“But that’s cheating.” Kyle was only pretending to be appalled. Shifter rule: Don’t annoy or anger the master chef.

“And I suppose that they are not cheating when they use their vampire speed to move the ball when they think I am not paying attention? I only used my
powers when I absolutely had to—to win.” He had his back to us but I could hear the amusement in his voice.

“They deserved what they got." I stuffed in another forkful of delicious food. “Anyone who can cook like this should always win every game.”