Otherworld Nights (33 page)

“We’re going to hide in there?” Kate said as I came back out after scoping out the interior.

“It’ll be fine,” Reese said. “The spiders here aren’t any bigger than house cats. Or so I’ve heard.”

She gave him a look.

“At least they aren’t poisonous,” he said. “If it was Australia, they’d be poisonous.”

“Everything’s poisonous in Australia,” Logan said.

We tried prodding them inside, but Kate dug in her heels.

“Why do we have to hide?” she said. “You’re werewolves.”

“The guys following us might be, too,” I said.

“Or they might have guns,” Reese said. “I can catch bullets in my teeth, but you guys need more practice. And your mom?” He leaned over them and whispered, “Hopeless.”

“They’re right,” Logan said to his sister. “I don’t like hiding, but
Dad can take care of this. He needs to know we’re safe, so he doesn’t get distracted worrying about us.”

My son. Some days, I think he’s already more qualified to be Alpha than I am. I kissed the top of his head and gave them both a nudge. They went inside.

Before I followed them in, I turned to Reese. “Stand guard by the door. It’s the only way in.”

“Got it.”

I wouldn’t be surprised if there
were
cat-sized spiders in that cabin. Or at least cat-sized rats. I could certainly smell droppings, though nothing scurried away from us.

The cabin was a single room, maybe fifteen feet square. It stunk of rotting wood as well as small animals. I led the twins to the back corner.

There was no cell phone signal in here, either. I’d have to wait it out until I heard Clay or one of the others looking for us. In the meantime—

A figure appeared in front of me. Just appeared, materializing from nothing. The kids lunged, but I was faster, and pounced on the intruder. Kate shouted for Reese. As I pinned the figure to the wall, a vaguely familiar scent almost pierced the stink of the cabin.

“Don’t shoot!” he said. “Or, er, bite, claw, punch …”

I knew that voice. I grabbed the guy by the shirtfront and slammed him against the wall again. He was about my age, completely nondescript, except for a thin, curving scar from his temple to his nose.

“Xavier,” I said.

“You know him?” Reese said as he ran in.

“Unfortunately.”

I first met Xavier nine years ago, when he was playing mercenary. “Playing” being the key word, complete with gun, camo, and
tough-guy sneer. But the word “mercenary” really only suits him as an adjective. He’s a con artist. He can be anything, do anything, say anything if he sees a way to a fast buck.

Reese strode over, glowering at him. “How’d you get past me?”

Xavier glanced at the twins. “Uh, I, well, you see, I’m wearing really dark clothing, so I snuck—”

“You must be a teleporting half-demon,” Logan said. “Tripudio, Evanidus, or Abeo?”

“Evanidus,” I said.

Kate sniffed. “No wonder he isn’t very good at it.”

“Clayton’s progeny, I presume?” Xavier said. He’d met Clay just before the kids were born. It hadn’t gone well.

“Reese?” I said. “Take the kids outside.”

“Oh, there’s really no need for that,” Xavier said. “I’m unarmed. They’re perfectly safe.”

“That’s not why she wants us gone,” Kate said. “She doesn’t want us watching if she needs to hit you.” She lowered her voice. “It’s okay, Mom. He deserves it.”

“Definitely Clayton’s progeny.” Xavier looked at me. “Elena, I’m sorry if I surprised you. I was—”

“You followed us from the airport. You and a friend.”

“Not really a friend. More of an associate. And I’ve already backed him off. I come in peace. I just wanted to talk to you, and a contact who works for the Cortezes gave me your flight info.”

That was one employee who wouldn’t be working for the Cortezes much longer.

Xavier must have caught the look on my face, and hurried on. “The plan was to speak to you as soon as you got out of town. Just drive up alongside, say hi, find a place to grab a coffee. But I got caught in a traffic snarl, and I didn’t want my associate handling this, so he followed you while I caught up.”

“So you want to talk?” I said.

“Please. If you’d just let me down—”

I hoisted him higher. The kids giggled. Since Xavier could just teleport out of my grasp, he must really want something.

“You weren’t nearly so keen to chat with me last week,” I said. “When I called to ask if you had any information on Gilles de Rais.”

“Because I didn’t have any. And I couldn’t ask around because I was in Europe. Do you know what overseas cell-phone rates are like?”

“You should have invested in a calling card, because a little assistance last week would have bought you a lot of goodwill right now.”

“Er, right. I didn’t understand the extent of the threat, see? I’d been in Europe for months. Totally cut off. Then I go home and some guys try to jump me. Seems someone gave this de Rais dude my name. Told him I was well connected—which I am, of course—so I might be useful.”

“Uh-huh. So now that it affects you in particular—”

“Sure, but that’s not why I’m here. Not entirely. With this virus I heard about, the supernatural world is in serious danger. So I came to help you.” He paused. “In return for protection.”

“Little late,” Reese said. “The threat—”

I stopped him with a look, then turned back to Xavier. “You followed me from St. Petersburg—and cornered me with my kids—because you want to team up? You’ve got a strange way of trying to recruit an ally.”

He tugged at his collar. “And you’ve got a strange way of greeting an old colleague. Been spending too much time with your crazy-assed …” He glanced at the kids. “Refreshingly eccentric mate.”

I wrapped my fist tighter in his shirtfront, making him cough.

“But it looks good on you,” he managed. “I’ve always said I like a woman who can take care of herself. You could before, too, but you were a little wobbly on the self-confidence when I met you in Winslow’s playroom. You remember that? When we were prisoners together, watching each other’s back?”

“I was his prisoner. You were his employee.”

“But I still helped you, didn’t I?”

“For a chit, which I repaid. Do you remember
that
? You made me steal the From Hell letter while I was six months pregnant.”

“But it all worked out. You have two beautiful, smiling …” He looked at the twins. Both were staring at him stone-faced, Logan coldly appraising the situation, Kate tensed to pounce.

“It all worked out,” he insisted, his voice a little less certain.

“Did it? Have you forgotten that letter released zombies? One of them gave Clay a really nasty scratch.”

“But he’s fine now, right?”

“After a very long, very grueling rehabilitation. You should ask him about it sometime.”

Xavier looked like he’d rather swallow thumbtacks.

“Point is,” I continued, “you haven’t won any friendship points with the Pack. Clearly what you’re angling for here is protection. But if we’re going to protect you from whatever is scaring the crap out of you, we’ll need more than a few tidbits of gossip in return. And this friend of yours, the one who followed us from the airport …”

“Not really a friend.”

“Associate. A supernatural you owe a favor?”

“Something like that.”

“And to repay him, you offered to cut him in on this deal. A two-for-one protection plan.”

Xavier looked at the kids. “Your mom is one smart lady. You guys are really lucky—”

“Attention on
me
,” I said, giving him a shake. “So I’m right. You want protection from this threat for you and your associate. That’s going to cost you. I want three chits. Redeemable at any time.”

“Three? No. I don’t do multiples. How about one? For anything—”

“Three.”

“Like a genie,” Kate said with a smile. “You’ll grant her three wishes.”

“They’re called djinn in the real supernatural world,” Logan said. “They do grant wishes. Usually only one, though.” He looked up at Xavier. “But you aren’t a djinn. So you’ll give our mom three. One for you. One for your friend. And one for sneaking up on us like this. If you don’t, she’ll make you wait and talk to our dad about his arm.” He paused. “He really doesn’t like talking about his arm.”

“Whoa. You kids are …” He looked at me. “Adorable. Absolutely adorable.”

“Just wait until they grow up,” Reese said with a chuckle.

“So what’s it going to be?” I asked Xavier. “Three chits? Or wait for Clay?”

I got my chits. In return, I promised that Xavier and his “associate” would be under Pack protection until Gilles de Rais was dead and his virus was contained. I didn’t tell him both things had already happened. Apparently, whoever gave him our flight information hadn’t shared that information.

When Antonio and Morgan came back for us, they told us they’d found Xavier’s rental car empty and had tried to track him. His teleporting skills made that tricky, and they’d finally given up and come to make sure we were okay. Clay had followed Xavier’s associate when he’d backed off. I explained the situation. Clay was fine with it. The “threat” was over.

I awoke the morning of the Meet to hear the kids whispering and giggling. They’d been sharing our bed, an indulgence we didn’t feel right denying them after we’d abandoned them for a week. When I opened my eyes, they were sneaking out the door. I played possum until I heard their footsteps pounding down the hall.

“Sounds like Jeremy’s here,” I said as I rolled over. He and Jaime had flown in the night before, along with Karl and Hope and the new baby. “We could go greet him. Or we can take advantage of a few minutes of privacy—”

I was talking to myself. The bed was empty.

I rose on my elbows. “Clay?”

He wasn’t in the room. His side of the bed was already cool, as if he’d left a while ago. I frowned and checked the clock. Just past seven. Clay wasn’t an early riser, and even if he did wake before me, he usually stayed in bed.

I was sitting up, yawning, when the door opened.

“I figured the kids woke you,” Clay said as he slipped in. “Sorry about that.”

I slid down under the covers, and pulled back the sheets for him.

“Damn,” he said, giving me a look that sent heat coursing through me. “I would love to take you up on that, darling, but I need to ask for a rain check. Jeremy wants to speak to you.”

“Ah. Pre-Meet business.”

“Yep.” He looked again at the spot I was offering him. “But it could wait a couple of minutes …”

“No. I just remembered, there’s no lock on that door. We’ll get Nick to take the kids for a walk later. Toss me my clothes.”

When I left the bedroom, I caught the distinct smell of pancakes and ham. My favorite breakfast. I smiled and picked up my pace. The others were already in the dining room. I thought they were eating, but when I got there, they were just hanging around the table, with no food in sight.

I glanced toward the kitchen. “I know I smell breakfast.”

“We ate it all,” Kate said.

There were none of the usual “good mornings” or hugs from the rest. Just grins. A lot of grins.

“Okay, what’s up?” I said.

No one answered. Jeremy was at the table with his back to me, and turned as I came over.

“Where’s Jaime?” I asked, as I bent to give him a quick hug.

“I dropped her off at a spa for a much-needed rest. She’ll come out tonight.”

“And there’s supposed to be a baby. I know there is …”

I looked around and saw Karl, on the far side of the table. He looked exhausted, partly from the new baby, I was sure, but also because he was obviously still recuperating, having been shot and nearly killed in Miami. He stood with one hand braced on the table for support, despite the fact there was an empty chair right beside him.

“Sit,” I said.

When he hesitated, I added a growl to it. “Sit.”

He sat, eliciting a few chuckles from the others. Clay was right. As pissed off as I was about Karl’s recent disobedience, it did have the added bonus of making him extra obedient now.

“Baby?” I said.

“She’s with Hope in the other room.”

“Okay, well, I don’t know what you guys are up to, but if there’s no breakfast on the table, I have a baby to visit …”

Clay cut me off. “They’re sleeping. It was a long flight.”

As if on cue, I heard a distant gurgle. “Then what’s that?”

“What’s what?”

“I didn’t hear anything,” Noah piped in. “They’re both sound asleep.”

“Uh-huh. Okay, so I don’t get breakfast. I don’t get to see the baby. What exactly do I …?”

I trailed off as Jeremy shifted his chair and Reese stepped away from the table, revealing a game board.

“Chess?” I said.

Jeremy waved to the seat across from him, and the others moved to let me through. “You’re going to play a match against me.”

“Why?”

A faint, crooked smile. “Because you always say werewolves don’t settle their differences over a nice game of chess. I think it’s time to rectify that.”

“Differences?” I stopped in mid-step. “What’s wrong?”

“Sit,” he said. My feet instinctively started moving again, but my gaze stayed fixed on him, my heart picking up speed. Clay squeezed my hand as I moved past him, but I pulled away.

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked. “In the field?”

“You were perfect in the field. But we have a tradition to uphold, and I thought you’d prefer this to an actual physical challenge.”

“A challenge?” My gaze shot from Jeremy to Clay. “What’s going on?”

Clay leaned in to whisper, “Just play along.”

I slid into the chair. Logan had slipped around and was standing on my other side. Kate squeezed past her father to get next to me and leaned her elbows on the table.

“You can beat him, Mommy,” she whispered. “Ask Logan for help if you get stuck.”

“I think your mom will do just fine,” Jeremy said.

I looked at the board. “The game’s half done.”

“Yes, well, everyone’s hungry, so we’re moving this along,” Jeremy said. “Reese and Logan set it up. Apparently, there’s the possibility of a quick victory, and several possibilities for an equally quick defeat. So take a few minutes, then make your move.”