Redemption: Alchemy Series Book #4 (14 page)

He didn't say anything and I didn't look at him as we fell back into silence.

***

I stared at the small group gathered in the penthouse. It was only the people who were absolutely trustworthy. There were the old standbys, Buzz, Dodd, Dark and Burrom, and the new kids, Colleen, Sharon, Chip and Katie.

"I'm sorry I called you all here without notice but we've got some intel. It's not good." I'd sent Dark, the first person I saw upon our arrival back, to round them up while I changed into clothes that weren't soaked through with melted snow. In true Dark efficiency, he had everyone there by time I'd pulled on dry jeans and a sweater.

"What's up?" Dark asked, speaking for everyone.

"Looks like the senator is preparing to move against us." I looked over at Cormac, who stood there expressionless, waiting to see if he was going to contribute. I looked around the room as everyone still had their eyes trained on me. "There is news that he's gathering together an army."

"Who's the source? Is it reliable?" Colleen asked.

"I trust it. I don't have any more details right now. But I don't know when, or how many. That's what we need to find out." I perched on the arm of one sofa, swinging my leg. "I'm going to ask the senator for a meeting on his turf."

The immediate roar of
"no's" that came from the group surprised me. I was expecting push back from Cormac, but not the emphatic response from everyone else.

Dark grabbed my arm from where he sat next to me on the couch. "If you die, we might all be screwed."

It wasn't the exact sentiment you want to hear at the thought of your death but I understood enough to joke about it. "Please, Dark, I know you care for me and all but hold yourself together, man."

The ramifications of my death weren't something any of us ever openly discussed. No one was sure if the theory that my death could possibly kill everyone was correct or not.

"For the same reason you don't want me to go, I'm the perfect distraction. He won't kill me. And while I'm there, drawing his attention, you can get in easier and see what we're up against." Their expressions looked hesitant and I waited for someone to argue the point but it was Cormac who finally decided to speak.

"No." It was a single command, not up for debate.

"The way things are run have changed since you left. We're a democracy now." I turned to look at him. He was standing with a hand resting above the fireplace, his body angled away from it, and the firelight made his eyes nearly glow. I broke eye contact first, his full attention unsettling me in ways I'd prefer not to acknowledge.

No one else in the room seemed to have a problem staring at the two of us. I actually thought that perhaps I should move closer to him so they didn't have to strain their necks back and forth between the two of us.

"This is my building, my call," he said from across the room.

"And it's my body." Why didn't I say my choice? I didn't need to look at him to know he'd picked up on the slip. He caught everything.

"This is a business matter. I thought we were in agreement?" I said.

"We didn't agree on this."

No one spoke as we played verbal ping-pong.

"I've been around a lot longer than you. My word is still final in this place."

"Not anymore. You've been gone and things changed."

The words were out before I even thought about the fact that I'd just thrown down the gauntlet and in front of witnesses. I was pinning him into a corner and neither of us would back down from the fight.

It didn't matter. I'd said it and I'd meant it. I wasn't looking to fight with him, but I wasn't living under anyone's rule, not even Cormac's.

I waited for the response that surely would come but the only thing he did was eye up the rest of the room. En mass, they grabbed their stuff and quickly left at the silent order. It was hard not to be envious
of the silent command. Last time I'd tried that, people asked if I had something stuck in my eye. Maybe I squinted too much.

No time to ponder it now as WWVI
, or whatever number we were up to—seriously, who could keep track, anymore—was about to go down.

As the last footsteps faded away and I knew we were the only ones left in the room, I turned, prepared for battle.

And he was smiling?

"What's wrong with you?" This was worse than a fight. Maybe he was all messed up from the magic. I didn't like when he smiled
; he had dimples to die for. I really needed to stay grounded, but it's odd how dents in someone's face could add so much appeal.

"Nothing." Still smiling,
God damn his dimpled face.

"Why did you send everyone out?"

"Because I can't let them think I'm fine with what you just did. They'd think I went soft. Next thing you know, people would stop listening to my orders and then I'd have to kill someone. This seemed easier. Let them think I'm beating you in private." He flashed me a smile in contrast to his statement.

"Well, just stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" He moved a few feet closer and leaned a hip against the bar, smirking now.

"Like you're proud of me or something."

He crossed his arms over his chest, perfectly relaxed while I felt ready to jump out of my skin. And it all came down to time, again. He'd had plenty of it and I'd swear it gave him an edge in dealing with emotions. Then I saw his chest rise a little bit more rapidly than it should for someone completely relaxed. I realized the only thing time had done was let him fake it better.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Everything. You don't get to be proud of me, or look at me like that. I'm not your daughter, wife or friend. We are business associates. That's it." I stood and stepped a few feet closer, making a waving gesture to encompass my body. "You have no ownership of this that should inspire pride within your being."

"And yet, I have this strange warm fuzziness inside that feels oddly like pride. Strange." He made a mocking show of surprise.

"Just stop."

"If you don't like how I look at you, ignore me."

I turned and walked to the table and decided to do exactly that. I put my head down and looked at the schedules I needed to get done and tried to pretend he wasn't even in the room. We had to kill at least another thirty minutes alone to keep up the charade, one I was willing to go along with if it kept the peace.

He came over and leaned a hip on the table right beside me. "Unless, that is, you can't?" 

"I can ignore you just fine." I flipped a page over. "See this? I'm ignoring you right this very second."

He moved closer, leaning over me. "Really?" His fingers trailed over my arm.

"Yes." I refused to look at him again to confirm just how well I was ignoring him.

As his hand pushed my hair away from my neck, I was determinedly not going to turn into his arms. He'd left and I had some pride. I wasn't going to just fall at his feet now that he decided to return.

Then his lips made contact with my skin.

"I'm trying to work."

"Don't let me stop you."

"You're in my way." I motioned to how he was obscuring my papers
, as if that was the only issue I had with this situation, not that my own chest was rising with my ragged breaths.

"Sorry, I'll get out of your way."

Instead of leaving though, he just stepped behind me, one arm wrapped around my waist as his other cupped my breast and his lips returned to my neck.

It was too much. I sighed and leaned back into him with a groan, thinking maybe
, just this once. How bad could that really be? One time. What was one time?

And then he spoke and ruined it.

"You might have forgotten you’re mine, but your body hasn't."

I pushed out of his embrace. "This isn't a game to me."

"You think I enjoy this?" His voice was low, soft and intense.
Now,
he was mad. "I came back, thinking about seeing you, only you. And what do I get? You basically tell me to go fuck myself. Nice homecoming."

"What did you expect
, when you leave me with barely a goodbye? Just leave with no warning?"

He didn't answer but stormed into the bedroom and slammed the door.

"Hey! Now who's running?" I yelled. I wasn't sure if going into the bedroom was technically 'running' but he wasn't arguing. I wasn't above taking a point on default. If this
was
a game, at least I was winning.

Until I looked at the couch, also my bed for the night. Okay, maybe more like tied. It was hard to sell a win when you were walking bent over from a cramp in your back.

Chapter Eleven

Letting Loose

After last night, I was relieved at the prospect of unleashing some energy. With nowhere else to train, Burrom and I had cleared out the conference room for the time being and laid out whatever exercise mats we could find, padding yoga mats up in the gaps left. It looked a little ragtag so it was a good thing I healed quickly.

"I still don't see the point of this. I need to be working on controlling the magic
, not wasting time." My hands were planted firmly on my yoga pant clad hips.

"I would've agreed with you until a few months ago. A pair of handcuffs, a piece of duct tape and you were useless." He tilted his head toward me, daring me to deny it.

"Okay, I see your point." There was no use in denying that before Burrom had shown up and a swarm of bugs flew to my rescue, I'd been cooked. "But I want it down, for the record, that I let them do that to me."

"If I were keeping a record, for your sake, I wouldn't write that down." He made a sour face in mocking.

"Whatever, tough guy. Let's get this going." I slipped off my sneakers and stepped onto the mat, ready to kick some butt.

"I don't want you to use any of your Keeper tricks."

Or get my butt kicked. My fun afternoon just took a nosedive. "Why not?"

"Because you don't know if they'll always work. What if he has some Keepers in his pocket
, like Tracker did? What then? It's not like he hasn't been in cahoots with them before."

"Fine." I redid my ponytail and motioned for him to come at me. "No Keeper tricks. And
, just for the record you won't keep, no one says cahoots anymore."

Now, for any of you that think when you see a 200 lb plus man heading toward you, even in sparring, you don't get at least slightly anxious, you're either crazy or you have bigger balls than I do.

So when Burrom came at me, I didn't mean to zap him with my Keeper tricks, or bring him to his knees gasping, it just happened.

I cringed as I watched him, palm on the mat, trying to catch his breath.

"I'm so sorry, Burrom." I leaned down slightly and moved my hand in the direction of his shoulder but froze. He might not want me to touch him right now.

"I thought we agreed you wouldn't do that." His breathing evened out but his tone was of someone still in pain.

"I didn't do it on purpose." I folded my hands together in front of me to avoid the urge to touch him.

He stood up slowly, looking like he was trying to shake off the pain in his arm, where I'd made contact.

He walked to the other side of the room and then turned and waited for me to look ready. But when I nodded I was, he shook his head and walked off a couple of steps.

"This isn't going to work."

"Why? I promise I'm not going to zap you again." I held both palms up.

"And you are going to do it anyway. If you did it before
, when you were more relaxed, you're definitely going to do it now when you look like that."

"Like what?"

"All on edge."

"Well, stop scowling at me then."

"I'm sorry. It's hard not to scowl when my arm is still throbbing." He didn't sound sorry. He sounded like he wanted to throttle me.

I watched as he went and grabbed his funny phone from where it had been tucked in his shoe in the corner.

"Who you calling?" I had a bad feeling about this.

He held up his finger. "Can you meet me in the conference room for a little sparring?"

He said thanks and hung up before I could stop him.

"That better have been Dodd."

"Dodd isn't as good."

"Tell me you didn't just call Cormac?"

"I had to."

"And he's coming?"

He nodded.

It was my turn to pace away from him in annoyance. "I want to kill you right now."

"This is business. You go down and I'm sinking right along with you."

"Dodd would have been fine and you know it." I crossed my arms in front of my chest as I narrowed my eyes.

"Dodd would've pulled his punches."

"Oh, well yeah, that would've sucked." I snorted in annoyance and waited for Cormac to show.