Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
CHARLI
For the first time since I moved in, I didn’t get up and check the locks a million times or lie awake listening for footsteps.
Exhaustion took over. I’m not sure I moved an inch all night.
Pre-dawn light filters through the window, telling me it’s still early.
I stretch, then reach for my phone. Only a little past five.
Plenty of time for coffee and maybe a run to that little bakery before work.
I slide it on and see I missed Teague’s text around nine last night.
Teague: Found Mavros and one other shifter. Both in rough shape. With the healer. Heading back to facility tomorrow to see if we can find information on missing supes or other locations. Returning Wednesday. Call if you need me. Or if you have a vision. Or if you want to say hi.
My lips twitch. He’s not very good at giving space.
And honestly, I don’t care. Going from the car to Greystone knocked me for a loop.
But spending the last couple of days by myself made me remember how alone and adrift I used to feel.
My old life was so small. Now, it’s full of so much more.
It was hard to see when it felt like everything was moving at the speed of light, but two days with more hours than I can fill have made it crystal clear to me. Space is overrated.
I return my attention to my phone and see a text from Macklin that came in last night too.
Macklin: Teague told me you had a vision. Are you keeping the lodestone with you? Why are you at the office?
Getting up, I make my coffee, then settle back on the couch. Is it too early to text them back? I bite my lip, hesitating for a long minute, then give in.
Charli: Hi. Sorry it’s not a phone call but didn’t want to wake you. I’m up. Drinking a peppermint white chocolate mocha. (See, I can branch out) Glad you found Mavros. I’ll see you Wednesday. Be careful.
I tap send before I can overthink it. It’s not clingy. Or mushy. It’s simple. Too simple? I blow out a breath, then send a quick one to Macklin.
Charli: Good morning. I’ve been wearing the lodestone around my neck. It helps. A LOT. And why didn’t you tell me about the little bakery on Main Street? I’m obsessed.
Getting up, I finish my coffee and snack on a piece of banana bread as I stare at the rack of clothes.
What would I wear if I were going to keep them?
Something besides black pants. I finger a gorgeous corduroy skirt in charcoal grey.
Definitely this. With the black boots I wore on my date with Teague.
And this gorgeous fuchsia blouse. Ooh, and this long black wool dress coat.
Damn, it’s tempting. I felt so good Saturday. Sexy. Confident. The exact opposite of how I felt my entire life. Moving to the mirror, I hold the blouse up to my body. Accepting a gift like this means accepting this is permanent. Teague keeps telling me it is, but I’m so afraid to believe him.
Hanging the blouse back up, I head into the bedroom and pull on my usual black pants, but today I pair them with my favorite light green sweater, the one that matches my eyes. This is perfectly fine, I tell myself.
Finishing up, I realize I wasted too much time staring at the rack of clothes and won’t be able to go by the bakery.
I pick up my phone and find they’ve both texted me back.
Teague: Wish I was sharing coffee with you. Have I told you how much I like going into the office every day with you? I don’t like being so far away.
Macklin: I haven’t been to that bakery in forever. How about breakfast on Saturday? You can show me your favorites.
I’m smiling when I walk into work, but it quickly fades when I realize how much there is to do with Teague gone. Everybody needs an answer or approval from him. I pick up the schematics and put them on the top of the pile, then arrange everything else from least to most urgent below them.
At noon, I grab the sandwich I brought with me and head toward the conference room.
My stomach’s in knots as I get closer, wondering if Andros is going to be in the meeting.
When I get there, I see the contract is on the screen, and his picture is in the small box on the bottom right.
He’s on video call. I quietly let out the breath I’m holding and take a seat.
As he walks the team through the final proposed contracts, with my suggestions added in, I can’t help but think he looks tired.
Do vampires get tired? Do they sleep? A million other questions pop into my mind that I don’t know the answer to, but I shove my curiosity down deep. Look what happened the last time.
“Charli, I’m going to need you to send me Teague’s changes tonight. Then, I’ll?—”
I clear my throat. “Teague won’t be back until tomorrow.”
He frowns. “I didn’t realize he was still gone. What time tomorrow?”
“I’m not sure, but I can mark this as a priority for him to review on Thursday,” I offer. Silence fills the conference room.
“I’ll change the contract date to Friday,” he concedes a moment later. “That will be all.”
Returning to my desk, I print a copy of the contract and put it second on the pile. He’ll likely review it online, but it helps me keep everything organized.
There’s a quick knock on the door, and I look up to see Susan standing there with a red envelope in her hand. “Mind if I drop this on his desk?”
I shake my head and point to the pile. “He’s got a list of things that need his review or approval. Do you need me to add that to my list?”
“No, he asked me to get him some personal information,” she murmurs, looking a little uncomfortable.
She puts it on his laptop. “Sam called me this morning. Told me to tell you they’ve got a plan to save Covey.
” She shakes her head. “Hard to think of her in that situation. She was always so vibrant and full of life.”
“I didn’t realize you knew her. Did she grow up here?”
“She and Amara were thick as thieves when they were younger. Covey and her mom, Sam’s sister, used to visit every summer.
Then her mom died when she was twelve,” she replies, her mouth set in a grim line.
“Unfortunately, her dad was human, and once he lost his mate, he couldn’t enter Greystone.
And he refused to let Covey visit by herself.
So Sam would go see her, but we never saw her again. ”
Raine had said something similar about humans. Some of my anxiety about Hank finding me here eases. “She’s going to need a lot of support.”
“She’ll have it,” Susan states in a confident tone. “Got to run.”
After she’s gone, I think about the power Covey’s boyfriend wielded over her every move. The abuse. The gaslighting. He manipulated her into defending his actions. Who knows how much damage he’s done? I don’t even know her, and it breaks my heart.
I glance at the time. Five o’clock. Still early. When Teague’s here, the office is alive with his energy. Tonight, it’s quiet. Too quiet. Not wanting to sit here any longer, I shut down my laptop and grab my coat. If I head out now, I can get dinner at the little café on the other side of downtown.
Fifteen minutes later, I’m sitting at a small wooden bar, the oak gleaming with polish, while I sip on a delicious mocktail and wait for my soup. Fresh bread and the aroma of home cooking fill the air. I pull in a deep breath, savoring the smell that reminds me of home.
“Here you go, Charli. Your favorite,” says Vic, the older gentleman who owns the café. He stays for a second to ask me how I’ve been, then rushes off to take someone else’s order.
I smile. It’s nice to have someone recognize me. And not because of Teague or Macklin. And while it can be annoying when everyone knows your business, it’s pretty great when someone also knows your favorite soup.
Steam rises from the spoon, and I blow to cool it down, then tentatively take a bite.
The rich, creamy broth filled with potatoes reminds me of my mother’s soup; she’d learned it from her grandmother.
My mom tried to teach me, but I never liked cooking.
My mouth turns down. Now the recipe is lost forever.
Breaking off a piece of crusty bread, I dip it in the bowl and sop up the remaining liquid, then pop it into my mouth.
An odd sensation crawls up the back of my neck, but when I turn, nobody’s there.
With a frown, I ask Vic for the check and cash out.
I’ve stayed longer than I thought and now it’s completely pitch-black outside.
I zip up my coat and head out the side door toward the parking lot where my car sits under the streetlight. Something darts in front of me, and I let out a little scream. It turns into a laugh when I see a striped grey cat jump onto the nearby dumpster and disappear.
“Think she’ll scream like that for me?”
I whirl around and find four strange men standing behind my car.
Where did they come from? A frisson of fear slides down my spine when I get a good look at them.
Two of them are tall and lean, with long, raggedy hair that obscures most of their features, except for the glowing yellow eyes that tells me they’re something other than human.
The shorter, third man wears his greasy black hair slicked back.
His wide grin displays rows of sharp teeth.
I swallow hard. Definitely not human. My gaze moves to the fourth man.
Not as big as Macklin but damn close. His bald head is covered with ink, and those bright eyes are fixed on me with unnerving intensity. This can’t be good.
Teague! I silently shout, shoving my plea down the connection between us, knowing he’s probably too far away to hear, but unable to stop myself.
Darting a glance from one end of the parking lot to the other, there’s nothing but asphalt and snow as far as I can see.
Heart racing, I take a step back, then another.
One of them smirks. My hand grazes the handle of my car, and I turn to open the door, only to have someone slam my body into the cold metal.
“Maybe she’ll scream like that for all of us,” Martin murmurs in my ear.
Terror shoots through me, and a little whimper escapes.
Martin yanks me off the car and turns me toward the parking lot and the four men. “Not that it will do you any good. See those rocks there and there?”
I follow his finger to the half-dome rocks spaced across the parking lot and nod.
“Thanks to a lovely witch I know, nobody is going to see or hear anything going on in here,” he informs me, his eyes lighting up when understanding dawns on my face. “Our own little playground.” He unzips my coat and runs his hands down the front of my body, squeezing and pinching until I cry out.
A tall, brown-haired woman walks by, and I immediately start screaming for her to help me, but not once does she glance in our direction.
“There. You see?” All five of them chuckle.
A cold, biting wind sweeps through the parking lot, echoing the realization spreading through my limbs. Nobody is coming to help me.
Martin gestures to my body. “Normally, I wouldn’t fuck such a scrawny bitch, but the thought of sticking it to Andros and Teague is giving me a hard-on the size of Texas.”
The bald guy tilts his tattooed head. “She’s pretty in the face and those lips…” He grabs his crotch, and I almost retch.
A couple of the men exchange nervous glances, and one of them backs up. “You didn’t tell us she belonged to them.”
Martin laughs. “Davis, weren’t you the one saying you’d do anything to get back at that asshole Macklin for kicking out that little girlfriend of yours?” The man mumbles a yes. “Here’s your chance. Probably the only one you’ll ever get.”
As they talk, I continue to scream for Teague while sending him pictures of the café’s sign. Silence is my only answer.
Martin’s hand slides down and undoes the top button on my pants. Bile rushes into my throat, and I thrash and scream for help. It doesn’t faze him. He unbuttons the rest and drags me to the rear of my vehicle.
“Your puny strength is no match for a shifter,” he says, ripping the keys from my hand and tossing them to one of the men. “Open the hatch.”
I lift my feet and plant them against the hatch to keep it shut, but Martin backs up a few steps, and they fall uselessly to the ground. I scan the ground for a rock or piece of glass but find nothing. Desperate, I reach back and grab his dick, twisting as hard as I can.
“Fuck!” he roars, tossing me into the bald guy’s arms as he cups his junk and cusses up a blue streak.
If I thought Martin was strong, the man holding me now has arms like steel. Every kick and hit I aim in his direction is met with amusement. But I don’t stop. I can’t. Not while there is breath left in my body.