Page 75 of Soulmates
“Wasn’t it the pack’s delta that contacted you in LA?” Trajan asks.
“What?” Dad jerks like he’s been punched. “My brother?”
I grimace at Trajan. “He and my cousins met with me and tried to get me to sign the contract. I refused.” Dad looks so crushed, I can’t help but feel bad for him. Life sucks when people don’t play by the rules. “Then somehow, they figured out I’d be here and were more”—it takes me a minute to get the words our—“forceful this time.”
He rakes a hand through his hair. “Brendan said you’d gotten mixed up in something in LA, that you were trying to sabotage me.” His voice drops to a whisper.
Well, at least he knows his brother isn’t his friend. “Sorry, Dad, but you can see how I can’t spend the next however many years watching my back.”ThoughI might be busy with a little revenge of my own.“I just”—I shrug—“I like dick and lipstick, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.” I’d never said anything like that to him before, and part of me feels like I’ve just stepped off the edge of a cliff.
But there’s a vampire and a…whatever he is ready to catch me. They can’t possibly realize what they’re offering. For now, I’ll hang on, and we can work out the details later.
“There may be one or two bad apples, but—”
“No, Dad. I love you and Mom and I love Abby, but Marcus was with the group who…who…” I have to stop or the screaming will start.Breathe. Just breathe.I choke down the pain and clear my throat. “You’ve got a house to clean, and the best way I can help you is by staying out of it.”
His lips are tight as a seam.
“But…” I grip Trajan and Connor more tightly. “You have my loyalty. I won’t rejoin you now, but when you need me, I’ll be there.”
My father’s face flushes, but he still doesn’t speak. After a long moment, he holds out his hand. I ignore it. Touching him is a bridge too far.
One of those rickety rope bridges slung across a crevasse with no discernable bottom.
Slowly, as if the weight of the world has come to rest on his shoulders, he turns and walks out of the room.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“WELL, THIS HAS been a fun trip.” Trajan’s fiddling with a straw, bending it in half, then letting go so it snaps straight.
“Sure has.” Connor runs a hand through his copper curls. His beard is getting real close to peak hipster. I’m tucked between the two of them in a row of lobby seats, facing the big window so we can watch the approaching flights. We’re booked on United Flight 4765, a red-eye from Dulles to LAX. It’s a five-hour flight, so it should still be dark when we land. All three of us have pretty much flipped to vampire time, but I’m sipping a Coke to keep myself going.
Maybe I’m going too fast. Connor’s hand lands on my knee, which has been pumping like a piston. “Sorry.”
“Thanks.” His shy smile turns my crank, which is good because right now, my crank is the only thing keeping me alive. I’m not quite the zombie I was two days ago, but it’s been rough.
“Sheena’s going to disembowel me.” Connor keeps a hand on me, but he’s looking over my head at Trajan. “When we land, I mean. She’ll know.”
Trajan’s fondling the back of my neck where my hair is growing long, a cool sort of comfort. “She’ll do what, now?”
“I just want it out there, before she sees…this.” Connor’s weight has shifted, allowing us to drift apart. Not far. Maybe half an inch.
Or maybe a mile.
Trajan doesn’t say anything, but they’re still staring at each other over my head. The lobby is filling up with passengers. Soon, the ticket agent will announce the start of boarding, and by some miracle, Trajan has scored us some first-class seats. I’m not sure I’m ready for the conversation Connor wants to have, so I zone out. I like Trajan, and I like Connor, and I don’t want either of them to leave me, and that’s enough for now.
“I’m not sure what you’re worried about.” Trajan’s emphatic comment penetrates my fugue state. Connor barks a laugh, though this is anything but funny.
“Passengers waiting for Flight 4765, your flight will begin boarding in ten minutes.” At the ticket desk, a young woman wearing more makeup than I ever would—which gives her a lot of leeway—speaks into the microphone, provoking a burst of activity as the passengers around us start to gather their things.
The three of us sit silently, waiting for the agent to announce it’s time for first class to board. Connor’s pensive, his injured knee wrapped with a thick bandage, his cane leaning against his outstretched leg. They’ve reached some kind of impasse, and it’s my fault. I’ve put all of us in an impossible situation.
When the agent calls for first class, Trajan goes first, shouldering his way through the crowd with Connor and me following. We end up sitting all in a row with me at the window, because I don’t want people brushing against me when they walk up the aisle, afraid they’ll take little pieces of me when they go. Trajan sits on my right, and Connor is across the aisle. The little luggage we have is tucked into the overhead compartment, and a flight attendant makes the rounds, offering cocktails and soda.
Trajan asks her about vampire accommodations, in case something goes wrong, and then we settle back into silence.
Another flight attendant sashays over. He’s skinny and blond, and when he leans over to ask if I want a cocktail, I’m pretty sure he aims his booty right at Connor. My wolf rumbles, and I have to stifle a smirk. I’m a possessive bastard, all right, and while jealousy is an awkward emotion, getting anything from my wolf is a relief.
The other two are quiet, and I try to not to wonder what Abby is doing right now. She must feel my absence almost as much as I feel hers. My eyes slide closed and my breathing slows, until Connor speaks up again. “I mean, it was one thing to drag me in like some roadkill you found on the street. This is different, a lot different, and I’m pretty sure Sheena’ll have her own version of exsanguination ready when she sees us together.”
