Page 2 of Brewster

“What does this have to do with me?” He told her that he needed her money to buy his way out of jail by bribery. “I’ve beenin this town for a while now, and I don’t think the police would take all that kindly to him trying to bribe them. What makes you so sure about this? You have some kind of connection to my uncle?”

“Only through you.” He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. The connection was tight and strong. “You have a broken wrist and several broken ribs. The ones that aren’t broken are bruised badly by what he has done to you.”

“He found me just this morning. While I was trying to get me a bit of food to eat. He even took that from me, and until my next check comes, I don’t have the money to…I do have money, but I won’t touch it. It’s my nest egg for a rainy day.”

“You look as if a rainy day would blow you over. Here, come to me. I will take you to the local hospital. While there, I’ll make sure that no one knows that you’re there. Just long enough for them to treat you.” She told him that she had better things to do than to wait for hours in the emergency department, only to be told that she had no insurance and had to pay upfront. “They will not say such things to you whilst I’m there. I shall protect you.”

Brew didn’t know how he got her to the hospital. She was strong, but thankfully, he was stronger than her. She was battered, too. Her body was bruised from head to toe, like she was some kind of blue and gray person. Once she was in the little bed in one of the rooms, he turned off all the cameras that would show the two of them there, and as he had said, no one would be the wiser.

~*~

Calla watched the nurses as they fussed over her. It was nice, she thought, to have someone care so much about her. She knew too that it was only his magic, but for now, she was going to think it was because they were compassionate and good at their job.

“I didn’t do anything to the nurses only to have them come to your aid. They’re nice because you are.” She told him to stopreading her mind. “Then you must speak to me when you have thoughts such as that. There are nice people in the world, but not many, I think, at times, but they are out there.” He huffed at her. “You will stay here until you are better. I command it.”

“Well, I don’t take orders from a dick or a dictator. I’ll leave when I wish.” He growled low in his throat. “You don’t scare me much. I don’t know why, but you simply make me laugh when you get all huffy at me. What do you call your other self? I’ve known wolves that call their other self their better half. Or their beast, depending on what sort of shifter they are.”

“You should be terrified of me. Also, you should listen to what I say to you. You’ve not done a very good job of keeping yourself well. You need a keeper to keep you out of harm’s way.” She asked him if he thought he was the person for the job. “I do believe that I am. You’ve no idea what sort of monsters are out there to prey on young women such as yourself.”

“You think so? I have news for you…what is your name anyway? You come to my home, bully me into coming here, and I don’t even know your name. Nor do you know mine either. It’s Calla Lily Marshall. My grandmother declared me ugly at birth and thought a pretty name of a flower might make people not want to run from me when they saw me.” He told her that was a lie. “I don’t lie. I might want to tell a falsehood to someone, but I try very hard to be truthful. It’s easier than trying to remember what you might have said to someone that wasn’t true.”

“No, I meant that your grandmother told you a lie. You are very beautiful. And you will look even more so when you have a bit of food in your belly more often.” She laid back on the bed, wondering again why he was hanging around with her. She asked him. “I don’t know why either. You’re an irritant most of the little bit of time that I’ve been around you. You’re too outspoken for your own good. And you’re much too thin, as I pointed out to you before. Why does your uncle think thatbeating you will make you endeared to him?”

“I don’t know that that’s his plan. He told me once that he wished I was dead, but he can’t seem to get me to die. I don’t know why I haven’t a few times. I’ve spent a lot of time in the hospitals because of him.” Calla thought of the things that he’d told her when he was bashing her body into the pavement. “He thinks that I should be dead so that he can have all the money that I have without having to go through messing with me. I don’t know why he thinks that I’ll leave it to him. I’ve made out my will, and he’s not mentioned other than to say that I’m not going to leave him anything. I’ll donate the entire amount to the Red Cross instead.”

“Notable charity.” He asked her then how much she had. Without thinking that he could steal it all from her by his mo-jo, Calla told him. “That’s a nice sum of money. As you might well know about my kind, I have a great deal of money, much more than I think that I even know about.”

“That’s just stupid. You should know all the time how much money you have.” The nurse came in to give her something for the pain. They were going to stitch her up. “Don’t leave me here alone. Please? I don’t know why I trust you, but please don’t leave me alone with my uncle still out there someplace.”

“I shant leave you.” He sat down in the chair just as the meds were kicking in. “Let it help you, Calla Lily. You’ll feel better when you arise.”

“What about your rising? Don’t you need to rest?” She knew that her words were slurred, but she didn’t want him to be a pile of dust when she woke up. “Go home. I forgot about you being what you are.”

“I’m old. I’ll be fine.” If he said anything else, she didn’t hear it. Just as she was starting to shut down her body, so relaxed, he spoke again. “My name is Brewster. Most call me Brew if they have known me for very long.”

When she woke, he was just coming out of the bathroom. She knew next to nothing about his kind, but she didn’t think that they went to the bathroom. Why that thought was there, she didn’t have a clue. Of course, he’d have to use the bathroom. He was a—

“You’re thinking too hard for someone who has slept for nearly four hours.” She asked him if he used the bathroom. “Of course. Why would that even be a question? I’m still a person with a functioning body, am I not?”

“How the hell would I know?” She sat up better in the bed with his help. “I have to admit I do feel a good deal better. Tried still, but I’m sure that’s just the meds they gave me.”

“I helped you along in your sleep. I only put you into a deeper sleep so that you could rest. You stayed asleep for this long because I believe your body was just tired and needed it. Next time, please rest so that I don’t have to intervene.” She glared at him.

“I didn’t ask you to intervene this time. You did that all on your own.” She started to get out of bed, and he was suddenly there for her. The feeling of falling forward hit her hard, and it was all she could do not to be sick on him, too. “It would serve you right if I were to puke all over your nice suit.”

She didn’t think she’d been funny, but apparently, he thought so. His mirth was contagious, and she found herself smiling at him. That was when she noticed that his eyes were so beautiful. Almost a clear blue. Like the sky in the summer. Blue as the moon that was full through the fall. Christ, she thought, a person could fall for him with just that. He asked her what she was thinking.

“The color of your eyes.” He moved back from her when she was settled. “I want to see your beast or whatever it is you call him. Don’t ask me why. I have no idea why I want to see him, but I want…no, I don’t know why either, but I need to see him.”

He stepped back from her, and she thought that he was going to tell her no. Instead, he took off his jacket and shook his body. Before she could beg him this time, his body stretched out, elongated to the point where he was taller than he had been. She’d bet he was at least eight or nine feet tall. His face was usually full and clean-shaven, but for the mustache that he wore elongated as well, stretching until he was almost gaunt-looking. His ears became pointed, sharp-looking against his head. But it was his eyes that mesmerized her. They were dark now, blood filled with only a hint of the ones that she felt so good about before.

Lifting his hands, she could see that his fingers were longer. The nails at the end were about four or five inches long and deep red. There was nothing beautiful about him. Oddly enough, she thought him to be handsome yet deadly. When he took a step toward her, then another, she didn’t flinch away but put out her hand to touch him.

The monster, the only thing that she could think of, rubbed his face along her hand and then up her arm to her shoulder. When he nuzzled at her neck, Calla let him do so, even tilting her head so that he could do with her as he wanted. Licking along her throat, she knew on some level he was going to bite her, and it was going to hurt. Calla came hard when he sank his teeth, his long, sharp teeth, into her tender neck.

She must have passed out at some point because when she opened her eyes, he was sitting in the chair he’d been in before, staring at her. Feeling self-conscious, she asked him if he was all right. Nodding once, he told her that he’d never been better and asked after herself.

“Fine. A little lightheaded but just fine. What happened?” He just stared at her like he was seeing her for the first time. “Are you all right?”

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