Page 29 of Forsaken Fate

“Look.” Brynna came to me and put a light hand on my chest. “I can’t even imagine what that must have been like for you. And with your dad marrying Diana. I don’t blame you one bit for resenting the shit out of her even if she had acted like Mary Fucking Poppins. That’s all I mean.”

“Thanks.” I leaned down and kissed her. She responded to my touch as if by instinct. God, what would it be like if I had more time with her? She tilted her head up and parted her lips. What I meant as a chaste goodbye kiss turned more sensual. For once, I managed to rein myself in.

“I’ve got to go,” she said when we parted, her breath coming hard. “Goodbye, Theo. I ... I hope ...”

“I want to see you again.” I blurted it. “I’m serious.”

Her step faltered as she backed toward the door. “I know. I mean ... I don’t know.”

“I want to call you.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Grayson will get suspicious.”

I wanted to scream how much I didn’t give a fuck what Grayson did. But that wasn’t fair to Brynna. I got into this knowing what the deal was with her. I should respect it. Instead, I found myself reaching into the wallet I’d left on the dresser. I pulled out a business card and handed it to her.

“My private cell is on there. Call me, Brynna, if you ever want to even just talk. I’d like to hear from you, at least.”

She nodded and closed her fingers around the card. She took it and slipped it into the back pocket of her jeans.

“Are you coming back?” she asked.

The answer was no. At least, it was supposed to be. That’s not what came out of my mouth.

“Yes,” I said. “I’ll be here for the Gathering. No matter what else I am ... I do keep my promises.”

Brynna tilted her head to the side and gave me a thoughtful smile. Again, I wanted to know what she was thinking. But she turned and walked out the door and I let her.

CHAPTER 13

Theo

I caught the first puddle jumper out of Albany I could find. Brynna was on my mind the entire time. Home. I told her I was going home. The truth was, I hadn’t had a traditional home since I was sixteen years old and opened the door to my father standing in front of me, holding my mother’s lifeless, ruined body in his arms.

But I still had a house I rented from Sebastian Lanier, leader of the largest pack in Wild Lake. It had a nice view, perched on a cliff overlooking Lake Michigan near South Haven. It was too big for me. Six bedrooms. Four thousand square feet. In addition to the house rental, Lanier had given me a job after the war ended. I’d helped him reacquire the assets the fae had seized from the wolves of Wild Lake. Slowly, over the last five years, I’d helped Lanier and the other Wild Lake Alphas rebuild their company, Wild Lake Outfitters. They’d paid me well for it.

I made two calls when I got back to South Haven. First, I called Vince, my assistant. I only had about sixteen messages from him – two for every day since I left for Albany. He answered on the first ring.

“You’re a real asshole,” Vince said in lieu of hello.

“Relax,” I said. “It’s people like you who make me a better asshole. I had every confidence you could keep things running smoothly while I was gone.”

Vince sighed on the other end of the phone. “Send me flowers and tickets to whatever’s next at the Kennedy Center and I’ll forgive you.”

“They’re already on their way,” I said, making a mental note to send them. “Two of them. Front row center. You and Kevin will be able to see Bocelli’s nose hairs. Promise.”

“It’s a start.” I could tell by the tone of his voice that Vince was smiling. One fire more or less put out.

“You can’t leave for that long ... or you can’t not answer your phone for this long ever again. You know how crazy everyone gets ... it’s a mess. You’re needed at about ten real estate closings, Theo. You’ve got unsigned paperwork in your inbox. Will you get to it, please?”

I laughed and felt like a dick all over again. I knew exactly what Vince had been putting up with.

“And I’m sure you handled everything like butter, Vince. You can do it again when you need to.”

“Which better not be for a loooong time, Theo,” he sighed. “I need my own fucking vacation. I hear Fiji’s nice this time of year.”

“Fiji’s nice every time of the year,” I said. “We’ll talk when it’s time for your Christmas bonus. What do you have lined up for me today?”

“Relax,” Vince said. “I’ve kept your schedule light. You’ve got a conference call with Bas at four o’clock. He’s anxious to close on the property near Manistee. There’s some sentimental value with it. He pretty much told me this has to go through or he’s gonna serve me to the Wild Ridge bear clans.”

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