Witch Way to Turn (6 page)

Her nameless hero strutted over to the car. “We’re fine.”

The rent-a-cop–she recognized him as Larry’s cousin–nodded. “I’ll just head out. Y’all have a good night.”

“How did you–”

But her savior wasn’t there.

A car revved behind her. “Hey?”

She spun around to see him driving up to her in a white Honda Accord. He didn’t exactly look like a sedan kind of guy, but who was she to judge?

He rolled down his window and Breena leaned in, since he looked like he had something to say. “I’ve never
not
completed an assignment before.”

“Guess there’s a first time for everything. Wait. What assignment?”

His pale-green eyes held her gaze. “Good night, Breena. I look forward to seeing you again.”

“Hold up. I don’t even know your name.”

Not answering, he shifted the car into drive. She took a step back, still gawking as he rolled up the window.

More confused than ever, she moved away. He waited until she’d skedaddled over to her car, got in, shut the door and started the ignition.

Then he took off like a bullet.

Chapter 4

Shock ricocheted through Orin Heider.

What have I done?

His queen would be so disappointed. Okay, maybe pissed off was more accurate. What a terrible inconvenience it would be for her when she had to kill him, her favorite assassin, for his disobedience. He’d never failed her before. Of course, he’d never met anyone like Breena before and he’d been a preternatural a long time. He pictured Breena threatening those werewolves with her car keys and had to smile. Damn, she was plucky.

Still, that was no excuse for such a horrific lapse in judgment. In duty. Maybe if he went back and took her out now, his first failure would be overlooked. Or he could hope that someone else would finish the job. Obviously, someone other than the queen of the preternaturals had it out for her. His stomach muscles tightened at the thought of her alone and vulnerable, with a target on her back, and he groaned.

What the hell is happening to me?

He should’ve let the wolves kill her–Djinn only knew it would’ve saved him a lot of trouble–but he’d taken one look into those eyes, dark as African violets, and been unable to look away. He couldn’t let them snuff out the fire he’d seen blazing beneath her fear.

Even now, alone in his hotel room in this pitiful excuse of a town, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He sighed, impatient with himself and this new weakness. Instead of imagining the way her lips would taste, he should be trying to figure out his next move, since he didn’t plan to report back to the queen. She would probably send Zadalia, her second in command, to find him.

No. That didn’t make sense. The queen would send Zadalia to take out the target first then find him. He couldn’t even think straight. What was wrong with him?

Two words.

Breena. Cross.

Orin had to have her. He wasn’t afraid of an obstacle. When he wanted something, he got it and, for the time being, what he wanted was Breena. To protect Breena. He had no obligation to her–totally the opposite, in fact–but he wanted to look out for her. Something about her reminded him of a long-forgotten part of himself.

He hadn’t been human in centuries and was glad not to be. Immortality had its rewards. Women, supernatural and otherwise. Money, piles of it after investing decade after decade. Power. Strength. And the obvious, living forever. But still, here he was, putting everything on the line for a teenage halfling who didn’t even know what she was.

Or was he? There was another part to all this. The most important part, without doubt. Her soul. Djinn, how it sang to him. He could listen to its melody for hours, temptation be damned. Unlike the soul of any other human or halfling he’d met, its tune combined the subtlety of a beating hummingbird wing with the power of the raging sea.

Was he really risking his life for her? Or for a chance to taste a soul so utterly intoxicating?

* * * *

What the hell was that? Breena laughed in the darkness of her car, trying to ignore the hysterical note in the sound.

Geez, I thought I’d left my freak-bait in my other jeans.

No way did she believe what that sexy lunatic had told her. It had to be some kind of frat prank to get into an unsuspecting girl’s pants. Step one, frat-jerk sends posse to scare the bejesus out of the target. Step two, hero swoops in to save the day. Step three, hero gets laid. Step four, satisfied guy reunites with gang to discuss his conquest over beers. Well, she wasn’t falling for it. She was stressed enough without adding Freaks Gone Wild to the mix.

Despite Breena going the actual speed limit on the interstate and five under the twenty-five mile per hour limit through town, the drive back to Jenny and Myles flew by.

Breena parked in the space next to Myles’s car and tapped her fingers along the steering wheel. She’d gone back and forth over telling him about the…attack, or whatever, but she’d finally decided not to. She didn’t want him to worry. Besides, she didn’t need to tell Myles everything. It wasn’t like they were dating. He wasn’t even interested in her. They were just friends.

Her car door slammed shut–even though she’d tried to ease it closed–echoing through the little duplex farm. Crickets chirped as if they’d just figured out how to do it and had to compete to see who’d win first place in loud.

The
Gossip Girl
credits rolled as she walked in the front door. Jenny must’ve finagled her way into watching her favorite show. She was already too old for her age.

Damn, you’re one to talk,
Breena reprimanded herself.

Jenny’s legs were plopped onto Myles’s lap. She’d passed out. Her silky brown hair lay messily around her shoulders. A bead of sweat formed at her hairline and she had a soft little smile on her lips. Breena’s heart clenched. Jenny was her sister in every way that counted. Breena didn’t want to take her back to Norma’s tomorrow. Matter-of-fact, she downright dreaded it.

Myles snapped around to watch her shut and lock the door.

“Jenny missed you.” His gaze followed her like a shadow.

“Thanks for watching her.”

“You’re welcome.” He tossed a pillow off the couch, making room for Breena to sit next to him.

She sat on the coffee table next to empty Japanese food containers instead. “What’d y’all do?”

“We ate and watched a really inappropriate show for a girl her age.”

Breena laughed. “Okay, Grandpa.”

“Watch it, young lady.” He grinned. “Back in my day, things were a lot different.”

“Um, hello, we’re not livin’ in the 1800s.”

“Not anymore.” He stretched his arms out along the top of the couch, muscles flexing. For a second, Breena pictured herself curled up in his lap, his arms around her, and Jenny by their side. As fast as it popped into her mind, it popped out. After all, Myles wasn’t offering. Besides, there were bigger fish to fry, so one thing at a time. She needed to figure out a way of getting Jenny away from Norma. Priority number one.

“Bree?”

“Huh?” Her eyes flew open at the sound of her name. She hadn’t realized she’d closed them.

“How’d class go?”

“Oh, uh, right. Good,” she stammered.

He arched his eyebrows and narrowed his gaze. “You sure?”

“Yeah. No, everything’s fine. Just tired. I didn’t think it’d ever end.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes with the low hum of the TV on mute in the background.

Myles was everything she wanted, but he couldn’t or wouldn’t make a move. She didn’t understand it. Not that having a boyfriend would make her life any easier, but it sure would be nice to feel safe and protected. Desired.

She thought about tonight and her nameless pseudo-hero. It was just her luck that when a total hottie saved her life he turned out to be a complete nutjob. She shook the sight of his pale-green eyes out of her head. As if she needed more problems.

Jenny shifted, pulling Breena back into the present. Myles’s gaze seemed to try to read hers, but for the moment, the book was closed.

Jenny’s head lolled back over the armrest and she woke up. “Sis, you’re home.”

Perfect timing.

“Sure am. How’d you talk Myles into watching
Gossip
?”

“Ah, man. Is it off?”

“Yeah.”

“You fell asleep right after it came on, silly.” Myles flicked her big toe.

“Hey.” Jenny kicked his hand.

“Okay, you two. Jenny needs to go to bed.”

“I changed the sheets and there’s an extra pillow in the closet if you need one.” Myles nodded toward the door in the hallway.

“We’ll sleep on the couch.”

“No, you’ll sleep in
my bed
.”

Jenny snickered.

It wasn’t necessarily Myles’s words causing Breena’s pulse to race and her libido to voice its opinion, but the way he’d said them. She
wanted
to be in his bed...next to him...twirling those curls, touching him. Didn’t he want it too?

“Bree?”

“Uh, if you insist.” She stood, ready for the day to be over.

He peered up at her through thick dark lashes. “I do.”

* * * *

Breena woke to light streaming through the mini-blinds and the smell of greasy goodness hanging in the air. She snuggled deeper into the covers. She was in Myles’s bed. At his insistence. Of course, she was alone, because it wasn’t like that.

Alone.

Where was Jenny? A brief moment of panic gripped her until she realized her sister must’ve already gotten up. The girl never slept in. Breena would sleep until lunchtime if grown-up responsibilities would just do the decent thing and stop getting in the way.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed back the covers and swung her legs over the edge. A chill nipped at her and she grabbed her sweater from the closet doorknob.

Breena walked into the kitchen and found her sister wrestling with a jar. “Hey, short stuff, whatchya doin’?”
 

“Myles made us biscuits and gravy.”

Her stomach howled indignantly and she had to muffle a groan. If it wouldn’t freak her sister out, Breena would throw herself on the table and start shoving food in her mouth. She probably should keep it together for Jenny’s sake. “Nice.” Breena nodded her approval and stood, hands digging into her hips, watching her sister.

“Yup.” Jenny turned the lid of the jelly but it didn’t budge.

“Give it.” Breena motioned.

Pop!

Breena got a spoon out the drawer by the stove and handed it to her sister.

“I like Myles.” Jenny slathered one of her biscuits in jelly. “Know what I mean, kidney bean?”

Breena delivered her line. “Sure do, bugaboo.”

She giggled. “He likes you, too.”

“Oh really?” A rush of heat spread through Breena like wildfire, taking the edge off the ice in her bones.

“Yeah.” Jenny bit into her jelly biscuit, talking with her mouth full. “Asked.” C
homp
. “Lots.” C
homp.
“Questions.” C
homp. Chomp
.

Breena poured a glass of orange juice then broke apart her biscuit and drenched it in gravy. Coffee wasn’t her thing, unless it was super sugary, but she loved it in red-eye gravy. Probably her favorite way to eat a biscuit. “Like what?” Breena chowed down like she’d never seen food before.

“Like favorite foods and college and stuff.” Jenny shrugged, munching on her third biscuit since Breena had sat down. No telling how many she’d eaten already. Good thing Jenny had a seriously high metabolism. Unlike Breena who, with all the snacking she’d done lately, was starting to feel a tightness in the waistline of her pants.

“He was being nice.”

“Nah, his glow gets all bright and squirrelly when he sees you.”

Breena froze. “What glow?”

“Like your blue one, only red.”

Chapter 5

“My blue one?” Breena tilted her head and arched a brow in Jenny’s direction.

“Yup.”

Breena watched her hand for signs of light as she sneaked another biscuit. No blue. “Do you see it now?”

“Nope.”

“Okay, Jen, when did you see it?”

Jenny puckered her lips, squinted, and her little cheeks turned candy apple red. Breena knew Jenny didn’t like to be called Jen, though it was even worse when Breena used her full name.

“I’m not lying.” Jenny heaved out a breath through her nose.

“I didn’t say you were.”

“Yes, you did.”

“No I didn–”
Ugh.
Breena was supposed to be the mature one. “I’m not arguing with you, Jenny.”

The pout subsided for the moment. Jenny crossed her legs Indian-style on the dining room chair and twirled her hair around her finger, making a nice nest of knots for Breena to comb out later. “The night... When Stan...”