Blood Brother Cursed (Sexton Blood Brothers #2)

Chapter 6

An Honest Request

Astrid turned around and came face to face with two uniformed soldiers. They both had holsters with guns, and they were looking at her with suspicion. One had sandy brown hair cropped short and stood slightly taller than her. The other had black hair, also cropped short, but it had a clear curl to it. He was considerably taller and more intimidating.

“Oh, I’m just—"

“She’s with me.” The voice startled the three of them, and Astrid’s mouth nearly fell open as she watched Phoenix come strolling up to them with a few other soldiers.

One of the soldiers who had been giving her a dirty look relaxed. “Mr. Woodward. We didn’t realize you were coming this way.”

The other soldier spoke up. “She’s not wearing the approved uniform, and it doesn’t look like she has a badge.”

Phoenix’s eyes moved over to her. “Ashley, I told you that you needed to wait. Here’s your badge. Go back to the truck,” he turned and pointed near the gate leaving from the base. “We need to have a serious discussion about you flaunting your role. And here’s your badge, which must have fallen off on the way here.” He held out a hand with a badge.

Astrid took it and looked at the false name but very real image of her. Her eyes looked up at Phoenix. “Thank you, sir.”

The taller soldier asked, “And what is her role?”

“Miss Hargrove here is a security expert, and sometimes she gets it in her head that she needs to test security before briefings.”

One of the soldiers snorted. “She’s a little too enthusiastic for her own good.” He turned and looked at her. “This isn’t some self-important corporation that takes these things lightly. Had Mr. Woodward not turned up, you could have found yourself in serious trouble.”

Astrid nodded. “Understood.” Without looking back, she strode off in the direction that Phoenix had indicated. When she reached it, Astrid was once again at a loss. She had no idea what the name of his company was, so she had no idea which truck was his. There were far too many trucks of different types for her to be able to guess.

Phoenix and his escort appeared just as she was starting to question what she should do. “Ok, Miss Hargrove, we need to head back since this breach is going to require some paperwork and explanation.”

“Good luck, sir,” one of the soldiers offered.

Phoenix reached her but didn’t say anything as she fell in step beside him. Something about his demeanor told Astrid to keep her mouth shut. He unlocked a truck with a W in a circle, and that’s when it clicked.

Phoenix opened her door, and Astrid couldn’t have felt more foolish as she slid into the seat. He closed the door, then walked around and got into the driver’s seat. They remained silent as Phoenix drove off the base.

It was disappearing in the side mirror when he finally spoke. “You really messed up my day.”

Astrid’s initial reaction was to point out that she didn’t ask for his help. However, she knew that was entirely the wrong reaction. “I’m very sorry, Phoenix. And thank you.”

He looked over at her. “Well, I couldn’t just let you get taken. As I told you, they are working with people who use women like you. If they get their hands on you, you will loathe the rest of your short life.”

“What do you mean by my short life?”

“They push women to use their abilities until they die.”

Astrid balled up her hands. “What do they get out of it?”

“The Mora family used Alina to grow their company and to successfully start their illegal operations. After they fell—"

“Because they killed her?”

“No, because she escaped. She’s Cooper Sexton’s wife.”

“S … why would talking about her bother Elliott?”

“Not my story to tell. Anyway, the Mora family lost her, their work was exposed, and some of their competitors tried to pick up where they left off. Granted, they weren’t the only family working on it, but they were the ones with the most influence and worst disregard for their test subjects to the point where their facility was destroyed.”

“Oh, she was the one who saw the future. Ok. Right. I can see how that would be helpful. But how would anyone use my abilities to control water?”

He gave her an incredulous look, then turned back to watch the road. “As I pointed out, people are made mostly of water. You already have a pretty good understanding of how to manipulate water that isn’t in a human container, and you can control small areas of the ocean. Do you really need me to point out how that can be dangerous? And the fact that we did just leave a military base?”

Astrid thought about it for a moment. “You think they might weaponize my abilities against other people? Like, on a battle level?”

“They would do it in a heartbeat. And their preference would be that it’s your last heartbeat so that they don’t get caught for using you for experiments.”

Astrid sank down in her seat, causing the badge she had attached to her pants to poke her. She pulled it away from her, glancing at it. Then she looked at it again. “Why did I think that this was an actual badge?” She pulled the badge up, the lanyard stretching as she did. All that she had was a blank badge, no image or words.

“You aren’t the only person with abilities.”

She stared at the blank badge, then looked at him. “What did you do?”

“Power of suggestion. I can make people see what I want them to see. When we reached you, the soldiers thought you were dressed like a lab tech, not some woman roaming the base.”

“You changed my outfit?”

“I changed how they perceived your outfit. It would have been a lot harder to explain a woman roaming around in civilian clothing trying to enter a classified area.”

“Oh.” There were so many questions going through her head. None of them seemed to matter in that moment. “I’m really sorry, Phoenix. Thanks again. And thanks for taking my stuff home. Do I want to know how you figured out where I lived?”

“I did my research.”

“You mean you looked me up? Exactly how deep did that go?”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t do a background check or anything. Just some basic info, like where you live and what you do for a living.”

She took a deep breath. “Was it necessary?”

“I thought so. And you’ve already benefited from it.”

“How would you feel if I did that to you?”

“You are in security, Astrid. The fact that you haven’t yet is a bit disheartening.”

She started tapping her hand on her leg. “I didn’t know your last name.”

“You were too busy trying not to encounter us, which I can understand. What I don’t understand is how you can be so reckless. What was your plan going in there?”

“I didn’t have one. What was yours? And why did they know you?”

“I told you we are working on a branch of my organization here.”

“I thought that it was supposed to save people like me.”

“That’s what we do behind the scenes. If you want to run a successful international business, you have to have services or products that people want. And that gives me a great cover for the things that are important to my family.”

Astrid sat back, her eyes watching the world around them. They were near her house. “You bought me dinner. How about I return the favor by making you breakfast?”

“That’s not a good idea.”

“Because of the curse?”

“Yes.”

Astrid looked over at him. “Do you think I’m cursed?”

He pulled into the driveway but didn’t immediately respond. “Here you go. Have a good day, and please, be much more careful. It was incredibly fortunate and very unlikely that I would have been onsite when you were. That kind of luck is not going to hold.” He got out of the car and started walking around the car, but Astrid didn’t wait. She opened the door before he reached her side.

“I can open my own door.”

He held up his hands, then returned to his side of the car. Before Phoenix got into it, she asked, “Do you think I’m cursed?”

His blue eyes were pained as he looked at her. “No, you would know if you were.”

“My mother left when—"

He shook his head. “Not now.”

“What do you mean, not now?”

The way he glanced around them made it clear. Phoenix did not want to discuss it out in the open. He then got into the driver’s seat.

Astrid turned around, holding her door open. “What do you know about what happened to Evander? Please.”

She noticed his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel, and his strong jaw was tight. “I… I don’t have the answers you need.”

“What about the answers I want?”

Phoenix looked over at her. “I don’t think I’m the best person to talk about your brother.”

“Do you feel responsible for his death?”

He stiffened, then looked away. “I don’t see how that’s relevant, and I really do have things I need to do today.”

Astrid got back into the passenger seat. “I know I have been pretty horrible to you, and I am sorry. But the fact is you knew my brother.” She bit her lip. “I don’t have anyone else I can talk to about him.”

Phoenix finally looked over at her. “Spending time with me is a terrible idea.”

“I’m not worried about any curse.”

“Neither was your brother.”

Astrid paused, trying to figure out the right thing to say. Then she gave him a half smile. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, no one’s going to miss me since everyone I care for is already dead.”

Phoenix’s eyes bore into her, and he looked like there was something he wanted to say. Finally, he hung his head and let go of the steering wheel. “What are you offering for breakfast?”

Astrid felt a thrill go through her. “How about scrambled eggs with grits and some soy bacon?”

He closed his door. “Soy bacon?”

“Yeah. Dad and I decided to be mostly vegetarian because of Evan. Fish is my one weakness.” She closed the car door, beaming as she led him up to the door.

“That sounds like torture.”

“Ah, they’ve gotten a lot better about making the food taste like more than soy.”

“It couldn’t possibly taste as good as the real thing.”

“Ah, an avid carnivore.”

This got a slight chuckle. “Well, yes, that should be expected.”

Astrid stopped with her key near the door, and then she looked back at him, not quite understanding how that would be expected.

His head moved a little as he mouthed the word “Dragon.”

“Oh! Right. Well, that isn’t always a determining factor, is it?” She unlocked the door and pushed it wide open. “After you.”

“I’m not entering a home before a lady.”

“I’ve never been accused of being a lady.”

“I’m glad to be your first.” He smiled, but before she could think about the innuendo, he held out his hand. “After you.”

“Ok, if you insist.” She entered, then stepped to the side. “Welcome to my home.”

“Why thank you, Ms. Lynnox. I appreciate your hospitality.”

“You’ve been the first person to express concern since my father died. It’s probably time to stop being so defensive,” she replied as she closed and locked the door. “Make yourself at home, at least within reason.” She smiled at him, then started walking down the hall.

Then, for the first time in what felt like forever, she shifted in front of someone intentionally. Her tail twitched restlessly behind her as she tried to stride confidently toward the kitchen. Phoenix said something behind her, but Astrid’s heart was in her throat, and she was feeling far too self-conscious to make out what he said.