Chapter Thirty-Five
M y mother could have picked a less conspicuous location to eat dinner as a family, but her attitude and aesthetic said otherwise. And for the first time, my desire to attend these family gatherings in such a setting made me want to crawl under a bridge and never resurface. I wouldn’t lie; what Thatcher said kind of deterred me from certain aspects of my parents’ lifestyle. Was she right about the silver spoon concept? Yes. But she was dead wrong about my Grams. That woman would have given the shirt off her back if it were her last one.
I didn’t think Thatcher would do the same.
She could go fuck herself for all I cared.
I sat in somewhat sophisticated clothing, with my parents and Aiden in a private dining area at The Heron on the Upper East Side. A dimly lit restaurant with portraits of castles and vast countryside occupying the wall space, along with red velvet curtains sectioning off from the main dining area to keep the privacy of the rich secured, it was top tier, especially since we had our wait staff. My parents, particularly my mother, knew people in high places, and The Heron was tough to get a reservation at; I wondered which client she’d sucked up to get it.
Aiden was eating a dinner roll when my mother asked the waiter for one of their expensive champagnes.
My dad peeked over the menu, his reading glasses at the brim of his nose, watching my mother quizzically. “Do we have something to celebrate, Linda?”
She gave her best coy smile and clasped her hands under her chin, leaning on the table, her plum suit barely wrinkled from the action. “I can’t have a nice family dinner at one of my favorite restaurants?”
I rolled my eyes. “There’s always an ulterior motive.”
My mother’s eyes darted over to where I sat, her lips in a fine line until she sighed as if she were the one annoyed. “Honestly, Remi, your attitude is unnecessary.”
At this point, Aiden was on his fourth dinner roll, buttering the shit out of the inside. “I hate to agree with little sis, but… why are we all gathered for dinner?”
I cocked an eyebrow, surprised that Aiden for once sided with me, especially against our mother.
However, she did not find that amusing. “Wow, both my children are conspiring against me.”
Dad chuckled across the table. “Linda, please, you’re keeping us in suspense.”
Before she could utter a word, the waiter returned with the bottle of champagne and a bucket of ice, pouring both my parents a hearty glass as my mother sniffed and sipped appreciatively like a wine fucking connoisseur. The waiter then took our orders, and Aiden requested another breadbasket. I chugged my ice water, anxious to get this night over with.
I could really use my flask with Dad’s whiskey right about now.
When she’d had enough of her obnoxious antics with her wine, I leaned back against the velvet chair, crossing my arms with impatience. I would rather deal with Josh and his nagging than sit here another second with my mother smacking her lips like a toddler with a juice box.
“Are you ever going to get to the point, Mother ,” I sneered. Irritation came off my body in waves, overtaking the rational part of my brain to keep my temper at bay.
That similar blonde brow rose. “Excuse me?”
“Why are we here?”
“We’re here because I—”
Remi.
Whatever my mother was trying to convey faded like background noise. My name being called by an all too familiar voice had me searching the private space of the restaurant, but only faceless strangers occupied the tables.
Why couldn’t I see him?
Better yet, how the hell did he know I was here?
“Remi, are you even listening to me?” my mother snapped.
I glanced at my mother. “Yeah, I just thought I saw someone.” If he were here, that could only mean one thing…
After last night’s briefing at the frat house, I made it my mission to trash my cap and pager. I even double-bagged the items before chucking them in the dumpster.
She followed my line of sight, searching with me, and said, “A friend from school?”
I ignored her much too excited tone. “No.” I picked at my nails underneath the table.
“Like I was saying, I have taken an offer to buy—”
Remi.
My heart stopped. Just beyond the table near ours sat Josh, dressed in his hunter gear, the bow and quiver strapped securely to his back. He twirled a stone that hung from his neck; the pearlescent color reflected off the dining room lights. I abruptly stood, the chair hitting the table, causing some glasses of water to spill on the white tablecloth. Could they see him like I did?
“Remi!”
Go to the bathroom. Now.
I flinched from his harsh demand. “Fuck no.”
“Remi! What did you just say to me?” Mom snapped. I didn’t realize I’d said it out loud.
I tore my eyes away from Josh’s stern expression to see my father dab at the damp cloth with his napkin. Aiden seemed unaffected by the chaos I sparked, while the look Mom gave me would’ve burned through my clothes if she could produce fire from her eyes. If I didn’t move fast, Josh might make his presence known, and I wasn’t ready to deal with that encounter with my family. Ever.
Josh sat, watching, waiting; not a single crack in the hard exterior of his face told me he wasn’t going to leave until I followed his order. There wasn’t any other way to escape without him finding me either.
There needed to be a way out of this without exposing Josh, who sat unbothered two tables down. Mom waited for me to respond, but instead, at the last second, I slapped my hand to my mouth, pretending to be sick, and rushed to the nearest women’s bathroom, hoping it was the right one.
“Remi!” I prayed she didn’t follow me.
Thank heavens the bathroom had a lock. I double-checked under the stalls, finding every one empty, and secured the door.
I pushed my back against it, giving myself a few seconds to chill out before noticing a sticky note taped to one of the stall doors. The words ‘change here’ in black letters were written in the center. Confused, I opened the stall to find a black garment bag tacked to the wall behind the toilet. I unzipped the bag, finding the color scarlet spilling out inside.
“How the hell…” How he got this inside without one of the staff catching him, I couldn’t imagine. Hidden inside was my pager, beeping. How the f—
“Are you just going to stare at it all night or change? We’re on a tight schedule.”
I swung my arm around, only to have it blocked by Josh and his rough hand. “Easy there.”
“What the hell are you doing in here?” Still holding onto my arm, Josh leaned forward, his lips inches from mine.
“You did one hell of a job hiding all day, only for me to locate your belongings at one of the dumpsters on campus.”
I’d made the split decision to hide out at my parents’ house, taking a taxi first thing in the morning after trashing my stuff. The excuse to my parents was enough to endure their questioning for the night. “And your point?”
“Stop trying to run from this. I am well aware of the little wall you built between our connection, but know this, I will always find you .” That last sentence sent waves of desire in the lower region of my body. I clearly needed therapy.
“I made it pretty clear by my lack of communication that I want out.”
“I never met such a pain in the ass before. Your grandmother would be disappointed.”
Fury flamed inside me. “Don’t you dare talk about my grams. Ever.”
“Then get your act together. I will fight with you all day, and I’ll even enjoy it, but I won’t ever stop pushing you. This is where you belong.”
Those baby blues pierced through my soul, leaving me trembling. “Why are you even here, dressed like that?” My voice, breathless from his words and proximity, was enough to send anyone overboard, begging for the cool tide to snuff out the fire.
“Since you shut your phone off, I had to track you. We were chosen along with Baron and Chloe to check out the nest upstate.”
I didn’t even want to know how he tracked me; the idea would send my thoughts in the dirtiest places. “Don’t you think it’s a little risky to send an untrained, unprepared Scarlet on this mission?”
“Four members of Captain Harrison’s fleet will be in attendance. What better way to improve your training than to be there front and center.”
I gulped. “Fantastic.”
“You have two minutes to change.” He released his grip, turning his back to give me privacy.
Stepping inside the stall, I unhooked the garment bag from the tack, stripped down to my underwear and bra, shimmied a pair of thick black leather-type pants over the thickness of my thighs, and pulled a skin-tight matching shirt over my head that somehow had a unique type of padding in the chest area. I found a matching belt and looped it through the waist of the pants. Patting my chest, trying to understand the mechanics of how they got the hard padding inside, I was shocked to find black ankle boots at the bottom and slipped them on, clasping the buckles one at a time. I tucked my phone in one of the boots, hoping it was secure enough and didn’t come flying out and smash onto the concrete.
I hesitated with the cape, the soft fabric clutched in my small hands. Grams wore this at one point, fighting evils I couldn’t even understand, and now there I stood, about to wear the symbolic clothing and follow in her path. Tears stung my eyes as I clasped them around my neck just as the bathroom door swung open.
I looked back in the stall. “What about my clothes?”
“Leave them; I’ll have someone grab them later.” Josh pulled out a black holster from his pocket, got down on his knees, and grabbed my right leg, extending it.
“What are you doing?” I panicked, trying to balance on my other leg.
“Stay still.” He began to buckle the holster around my thigh. His strong hands gripped my outer leg, creating inappropriate thoughts I had to squish before he picked up on it. A space was attached to the holster where a weapon, most likely my dagger, could fit. He then removed the quiver and dug around until he retrieved an object wrapped in a black cloth.
Unwrapping the material, my dagger showed in the palm of his hand. “May I?”
All my thoughts jumbled into one. Josh and the way he knelt before me. How he held the dagger in his big palm, asking permission, how his blue eyes traveled up my body. It took a few seconds for my heart to catch up, and I could only nod approval.
There is something seriously wrong with me.
He gently placed the dagger inside the sheath, slowly pulling his hands away from my leg. The sensation of his touch sent thrills of pleasure along my spine, and I had to hold my tongue to keep from exposing myself. Josh gazed up at me under those dark lashes, and his blue eyes swirled. “Next time, don’t forget your pager.” He got to his feet, readjusted his weapons to his back, and strode to one of the windows by the line of sinks. All sexual thoughts were deflated the minute he opened his mouth.
“What are you doing?” I questioned, watching him unlatch the window and climb onto the heating vent.
Josh looked over his shoulder. “We can’t go through the front; I only have one amethyst stone to conceal myself.”
Josh twisted his body out the window and stood outside the restaurant, then peeked his head back in and offered his hand. “Ready?”
I sighed deeply and hoisted myself onto the heater, reaching for his calloused hand. I gripped the windowsill and jumped up, Josh using his other hand to grip underneath my arm and tugging lightly to get me through. I twisted my body as he did until I came out on the other side, standing upright, his hands lingering a little too long on my waist.
Barely an inch separated our bodies, the heat creating something sensual, the lingering of his stare pulling me in.