Breaking Out (12 page)

That day was only the beginning of my
training. Weeks of pain and terror followed. Tellek enjoyed every
second of his spell casting. And now here I was, an instrument to
use in the destruction of the target. It was foretold that Charles
Liam William Cuvier would ignore his own fae blood and destroy our
people leading the demon hoards against us. Tellek had seen the
future, and it was clear.

A tremor raised the hair on my forearms. That
first day, Tellek hinted that he might kill the target. But Charlie
Cuvier’s mind was full of important information essential to my
people’s continued existence. If I bring him to Tellek, he might be
destroyed, Would that ensure my people’s safety, or would killing
him start a war that would really wipe out our race for good?

CHARLIE

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"So what's
up with the pain?" Jay asked, busy at the sink drying dishes.

"The pain?"

"Ivy. C'mon."

I rolled my eyes. "She's back in the shower
for real this time. I’ll have Samson keep an eye on the window just
in case.”

“What’s your take on her?” I had a feeling
that Jay’s interest wasn’t strictly professional.

“Either she’s a spy or she's in some kind of
serious trouble."

"We should treat her as a potential enemy
until we know different." That was my second in command
talking.

"I agree.” I glanced at him, wincing at the
idea of dragging her around with us. “We'll have to take her with
us."

He held up his hands. "Whoa. I didn't say we
should kidnap her, Char."

"There's no other choice. The wolves might
come back for her. Or if she’s a spy she’ll report back to whoever
sent her.”

I left through the back door to give Samson
his instructions. When I got back, Jay was drying his hands on a
towel. He settled in a kitchen chair, giving me a long, hard look.
"You haven't been up front about what we're doing here in L.A."

I shrugged, looking away. "I had an idea,
contacted someone. You know how I get.” I kept things close until I
was sure. “You might want to think about going back."

"So that's it, huh? You're gonna blow me off?
That’s bullshit!" Grabbing another soda, he walked outside to the
small fenced-in backyard, lowering his huge frame onto a ratty
green beach chair that might end up collapsing under his weight.
There was a large umbrella over it so it hadn’t gotten too wet.

Jay had stuck by me for this whole trip,
trusting that I knew what I was doing, putting up with wet shoes
and ley line nausea. He'd heard about the prophecy just like all
the rest of the supernatural world and he'd understood why I needed
space. He had my back in a way no one else did.

When we were still kids, Isaiah had called
him my second-in-command—my captain in the war that was to come.
Maybe he was meant to go on this journey with me, even this
part.

I joined him outside. "You're right. I
should’ve told you everything before we left. You might have
decided not to come."

"If you really think that, then you don't
know shit about me." He was royally pissed.

"You wanna punch me?" I was only half
teasing.

"I'd rather hear the truth. Then maybe I'll
punch you."

"Can we mindspeak?" He nodded.
"I'm
meeting someone."

"Who?"

"A client."

"A what?”

“
Look, I can do magic—magic that can help
people. Why not start acting like the responsible adult everyone
says I should be? There are supes who need help and can’t go to the
cops or even their councils.”

"And you’re planning on doing this work
alone?”

“
It could be dangerous. L.A.’s not
Crescent City.”

“
Uh huh. And…?”

"That's all."

“
I think I really will punch you.”

“
Why? Because I didn’t tell you my idea,
or because it’s a stupid idea?”

“
Because you were thinking of cutting me
out of such a sweet plan.”

“
You like it?”

“
We’ll have our own Rogues Team. My
dads’ll freak.”
Two leopard shifters, Peter and Kyle, adopted
Jay when his drug addict parents got themselves killed in a car
crash while they were out trying to score. Jay was a young child
when it happened, too young to remember much about his two
parents.

At a party we were invited to in Monterey,
some kid offered Jay a bag. Jay flipped, pushing the guy against
the wall, rifling through his pockets then flushing what he found
down the toilet. The party broke up fast after that.

“
You can’t tell anyone about the new
business. At least not until we get it up and running.”

“
And who’s the client?”

“
Some female wolf. The alpha’s mate. We’re
meeting with her tomorrow afternoon at three.”

“
Sweet. But what do we do about the pain
in the ass upstairs?”

“
Looks like she’s coming along.”

IVY

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“Where’d you
guys sleep last night? Outside?” They were looking kinda rough,
scruffy even.

“I slept in the hall, Jay took the
couch.”

I gave the big one a long look. “You fit on
the loveseat?”

“He can sleep anywhere, but Samson and I need
to stretch out.”

“Samson? Who’s he? Your imaginary friend?” I
heard a soft growling noise behind me and turned, freezing in
place. A dog the size of a smart car was sitting on my patio.
“Uh…he’s not yours is he?” I started looking for my cell phone.
Didn’t I leave it on the couch? “I’m gonna call animal
control.”

“Forget it. He’s mine.” Charlie took a step
toward the sliding door.

“No!” I couldn’t hide my terror. “I…I…dogs
are animals.”

Jay and Will laughed. “Yeah…”

“I don’t like animals and they don’t like me
either.”

“He’s harmless, as long as you don’t do
anything to hurt us.” The door slid open and the Monster walked
past Charlie, heading right for me. I scooted in reverse until the
back of my knees hit the sofa. With no other choice, I dropped down
on the seat, tucking my legs beneath me. I didn’t want to give him
any toes to chew on. All the while his beady black eyes were locked
on my hazel. Holy crap. I was toast.

The Monster sniffed my knees and growled, the
sound vibrating through my chest, deeper, louder. Gasping, I stood
on the couch cushions, leaning backward, throwing my legs over and
landing on the floor with a thump. Now behind the couch, I crouched
and frog walked toward the stairs, hoping The Monster would ignore
me now that he couldn’t see me.

Soft growling near the staircase. I covered
my head, cowering like a baby.

“Samson. Come.” A minute later a hand rested
on my shoulder. “It’s okay. He’s outside again.”

“Why did he growl at me?”

The guys exchanged a glance, Jay taking my
hand and leading me to the couch. “Come and sit.” I collapsed in a
lump. He sat beside me. Charlie sat across from us. “Samson acts
like that when he sees someone as a threat to me. You weren’t being
aggressive, so he only gave you a warning. He’s not sure where you
stand. Neither am I.”

“He’s a dog. Dogs don’t think logically.”

“He’s more than a dog.”

I buried my face between my hands and
groaned. Holy shit, he had a cu sith. I knew his mom had one, but
Charlie? Could this be the same one? It didn’t really matter, cause
the creature was here and I was gonna have to deal with it. If I
had a hundred freakin’ bits for every time a dog tried to bite me,
I’d own a penthouse in Malibu. I gave Charlie the scowliest frown I
could manage. “Keep that monster away from me. He might have big
teeth but I know how to use a gun.” And if I were in my true form
we’d see how well that ugly faerie dog did against me.

“Do you own one?”

“What?”

“A gun.”

“No, but I know where I can get one. You got
cash?”

“We won’t be needing a gun.”

“What if those guys come back?”

“The wolves?” I shrugged, not denying it.

“We don’t need guns against them.” Charlie
said, his brown eyes so focused on mine I thought he might burn a
hole in my pupils. I couldn’t see the real him anymore, meaning
he’d either found a way to strengthen his glamour or my spells were
weakening. Great.

“Jay looks pretty powerful, but you? “ I
flattened my hand, tilting it back and forth. “Eh.”

“I might surprise you.” He smiled. He was
much cuter when he smiled. Of course I knew how powerful he was, at
least what the rumors said. According to Tellek he was a
monster.

“Maybe. ” Yep, that smile sure surprised me.
It was beautiful, distracting even. There was something wrong with
this whole picture. These guys were nice. The guy I’d trained to
take down had killed hundreds of his own people. This couldn’t be
the same guy.

He touched my knee with the tip of his
fingers. “I want to help you. What are you running from?”

I pinched my arm hard like I’d been taught.
Pain helped me focus and combat the magic he was throwing my way. I
could handle torture if I had to. “Why do you think I’m running?” I
waited for the pain to start.

He looked around. “Who’d live like this by
choice?”

My chin dropped. Wow. Insults were the new
torture. “Oh, nice. Just ‘cause I’m broke and can’t afford anything
better, you don’t have the right to judge me.”

“There’s a blood stain on the floor in the
bedroom.”

“Previous tenants. Maybe they were honey
badgers.”

“The curtains have so many holes everyone can
see in.” Jay added.

“Maybe I’m an exhibitionist.” I put my feet
flat on the floor. These guys were asking for it.

“I saw three cockroaches in the kitchen.”
Charlie said, looking at Jay, who held up five fingers.

“Only five? They must’ve called off the
party.”

“Samson ate a few.” Jay added. I giggled.
Couldn’t help it.

Charlie’s eyes narrowed. He still had his
fingers on my knee. “Your shields are pretty strong.”

My laughter died a quick death. “You think
you can bust through them?” No reason to lie about having them. I’d
already felt him nudging around.

“I can, easily, but I won’t, at least not
yet.”

Yeah, like I believed that lie. Only…maybe I
did. “Why?”

“It’s painful when someone tears through your
shields. I know. It’s happened to me.”

“And you give a shit about hurting me?”

“Of course we do. We won’t hurt you, unless
you attack one of us or betray us to someone else. Then all bets
are off.”

That was some promise, but could I believe
it? “So how’re ya gonna get at all this supposedly secret
information that’s hiding in my head?”

He traced the scar on his palm. “You’re going
to make the right choice and tell us the truth. I really don’t want
to go the other route. I’ll give you twenty-four hours.” Charlie
looked at Jay for a few heartbeats, then Jay jumped up and headed
for the kitchen.

“I’ve been telling you the truth.” I looked
down at my knee, where his fingers rested. He could have hurt me—I
know it. But he hadn’t. “You’re sticking around another twenty-four
hours?” I asked.

“No. We’re going to eat breakfast, get
cleaned up and go meet my first client. You’re coming along.” He
took my hand and pulled me up. “Do you have any clean towels?”

“Whadaya think I am, an animal?”

He grinned. “Maybe. I haven’t decided
yet.”

“Ha, ha.” There was some banging around in
the kitchen. “What’s he doing back there?”

He took a sniff. “Smells like pancakes and
bacon.”

“Pancakes, really?”

Jay poked his head in, a kitchen towel tucked
into his waistband. “Stick with us and we’ll show you the
world.”

Charlie laughed. “At least all the fast food
joints.”

“Don’t listen to him, kid. Sometimes we go to
that Fig Garden place.” Jay went back to his cooking.

I giggled again. “How old are you guys?”

“Jay’s twenty. I’m Eighteen. You?” I was
sticking to my lie, at least for now.

“Eighteen.”

“Ha.”

“Okay, seventeen.”

My so-called target arched a perfectly formed
eyebrow. “I can tell when you lie,” he admitted.

I groaned. That had to be the worst magical
gift ever, at least for the other guy—in this case, me. “Fine. I’m
seventeen in two months.”

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“My life is complicated.”

“Tell me about it.” There was something in
his expression that made me feel kind of sorry for the guy. That
is, if he was really as nice as he seemed and hadn’t killed
hundreds of his people like Tellek said.

“Food’s on.” Jay poked his head in, smiling.
I smiled back. I think I could fall for a guy who made
pancakes.

The bacon was cooked perfectly, the pancakes
melted in my mouth. I couldn’t stop saying “mmmm” and “ooooh.”

Jay had been laughing at me for a while.
“Starting to sound like an adult movie in here.”

I giggled. Wow, so many times in one day. Had
to be a record for me. “Thank you, Jay. You rock big time.”

Charlie frowned. “Don’t make such a big deal.
His head will swell, which is a real problem for a guy that large.
We’ll have to trade in the rental for one with a sunroof.”

“I am one hundred percent svelte.” Jay
protested, shoving another stacked spoonful of honey- drenched
pancakes into his mouth. How did he get his mouth to open that
wide?

“What’s svelte?” I asked.

“Slim and willowy,” Jay answered, throwing a
blueberry at his friend. Charlie caught it in his mouth. Charlie
threw one back. They must practice this shit.

“You want a little pancake with all that
honey?” I asked, staring at Jay’s plate. It had dripped on the
table, one thick clump making its way to the edge. Soon it would be
in his lap. “You’re all bear, huh?” Boy, talk about killing the
mood. I had such incredible skills when it came to sticking my foot
in my mouth. I tried to explain. “You like honey and you’re big
and…”