“Rick, Will, please go upstairs for a few minutes. “ Garrett’s voice was very calm. How could he be so calm? I was fuming.

  As soon as they left, I gave Sinc a slight shove, and yelled, “What the fuck did you do?”

  Her eyes narrowed and she walked right back up to me speaking softly, “This is really none of your business. I realize that Ethan is your best friend and you don’t want him hurt, but this is going to hurt him less in the end.”

  “You are such an idiot. He adores you. He just came back from searching for days for any sign of me or Kennet. He’s probably exhausted. This was cruel, Sinc. You could have just told him it was over.”

  “You know I’ve tried to do that. He won’t listen to me.”

  “You told me you loved him...”

  “I do, that’s why I did what I did.”

  I turned on Sasha. “You’re toast, asshole!”

  He leaned back against the pool table and crossed his arms. “She came to me. I didn’t pursue her. I didn’t break any of Garrett’s rules.” I looked at Garrett who just shook his head and shrugged.

  Okay, so I like to think of myself as an adult, perhaps not in years but definitely in experience. I know that this stuff happens. People have affairs, couples break up and go their separate ways. Sinc had even warned me honestly about not wanting a serious long term relationship and that Ethan was pushing her too strongly in that direction. So why was I flipping out? Because it was Ethan who’d gotten hurt and he was family and also because the anger toward Kennet that I was holding onto with all my strength was floating on the surface like a burning battleship, ready to ram into the nearest pier. Of course that doesn’t excuse the way I behaved next but…well…you’ll see.

  “It’s true, he didn’t come on to me, Jackie. It was all my idea.” Sinc looked at Sasha and smiled in her very sexy way and that’s what did it. Sinc’s nose became the pier.

  I punched her. (I know, I know, I shouldn’t have.) We all heard the crack and then blood was spurting everywhere and she was crying and cursing. After I did it, I felt good for about five seconds and then I felt like crap. Garrett grabbed me away from her, digging his nails into my arms and actually glaring at me. I couldn’t blame him. It was completely wrong. I shook off his hands and went to the fridge to get some ice and give it to Sasha, who was holding Sinc against him.

  “Would you please give her some blood so she can heal quickly?”

  “Yes, healer.” Sasha was really pissed at me too. I watched him pull her into his lap and bite his wrist to give her his blood. I was surprised to see how gently he held her and stroked her hair. As soon as she started drinking, the bleeding stopped and her nose stopped swelling.

  I sat down across from them and tried to think of what I could say. “You can punch me back if you want, Sinc, because I was way out of line.” Sinc turned away from me, but Sasha smiled. “You have every right to be angry, but when you get up tomorrow morning try to cut me a little slack. I’ve been out of main stream society for awhile and have obviously lost all of my social skills. I’m really sorry. I hope you can forgive me.”

  I walked upstairs feeling like a stranger in a house that I owned. For some strange reason, it didn't feel like home at the moment. In fact, nothing felt right. Who the hell was I? Why had I acted like that? It’s one thing to be angry, but punching someone out of the blue was off the charts crazy. As soon as I reached the top of the stairs Garrett was holding me gently. Wanting more privacy, he led me into the bedroom where I sat on the edge of the bed and started to shake.

  He wrapped his arms around me more tightly and kissed my hair. “Jackie, sweetheart, talk to me.”

  “I can’t talk about it. It was—I can’t.” I clutched at his shirt. “Please stay with me. I don't feel like I can be alone.”

  "I'll stay for as long as you need me to."

  “I can’t believe I hit her like that. I’m afraid. I’m losing control.”

  “Do you trust me?”

  “More than anyone else.”

  “Then please talk to me.”

  “I’m ashamed—and I’m scared.” I felt a sob choke up from my chest.

  ‘You’re not responsible for what happened. He had incredible mental powers. You know what he did to Aedus and Ethan. All that I care about is that you’re here, my sweet angel, and you’re alive and we have a long wonderful life ahead of us.”

  “You won’t feel that way when I tell you.”

  “Jackie look at me.” I did, although it was hard to meet his eyes.” You’re everything I ever dreamed about in a mate. If you went to him willingly, I would never think badly of you. I told you to give him what he wanted so you wouldn’t have to suffer.”

  I was so confused about what had actually happened. “I didn’t. I mean, I didn’t have sex with him. At least I don’t think I did. He whipped me and beat me and half the time I was unconscious so I don’t know if he…if he raped me.

  "He told you that he had me, remember? Before he fought Aedus in the woods? I don’t remember that happening. I keep trying to remember. I’m trying so hard.” I clutched at his wet shirt and whispered. “But there was one time, when he used his mind to make me want him.” I started to sob uncontrollably. “He made me kiss him and my body—my body was turned on. My mind was begging for him to stop but—but I had no control.” I turned and crumpled face down onto the bed and wept, too ashamed to look him in the face.

  He lay down next to me and rubbed my back, his face only inches from mine, wiping the tears off of my face with his shirt sleeve. He whispered, “Jacqueline, my love, you did nothing wrong.” I turned to look at him, my eyes full of fear and shame. “I will always adore you.” He moved my tear soaked hair out of my eyes. “You’ve been treated so horribly and hurt so badly. Let me care for you tonight, my angel.”

  I nodded my head, knowing that some tender care from Garrett might bring me back from the edge. He ran my bath and shampooed my hair, massaged my feet and rubbed my back. He made me soup and listened while I talked about my fear and my pain and my rage. Eventually, I fell asleep in his bed curled up in his arms, feeling more like myself than I had in a very long time.

  Chapter Forty-seven

  Garrett: 12:00 AM Sunday

  “So are we off the team?” Sinc’s nose looked almost normal again, with just a little swelling. She and Sasha were on the basement couch together and his long fingers were playing distractedly with her dark hair. William and Heinrich were back at the pool table trying to act inconspicuous.

  “No, of course not. I’m not angry with either of you. Sasha told me honestly that there was an attraction, and you’re both adults. Apparently, you also told Jackie what was going on with you and Ethan. I’m only disappointed in the way you handled it. I’m faced now with the fact that Ethan may not want to stay on the team, or may have trouble coping if he does. I know that Jackie will be seeing him tomorrow at Kyle’s, so I guess we’ll know then.

  “Whatever the end result, I’m calling a team meeting for tomorrow at 10 PM, and that includes Rob if he’s around and even Bridgett. If Ethan is still with us, then I want you two to cut out any behavior that could be hurtful to him. You will act professionally at all times or I’ll come up with some really entertaining assignments for you. Entertaining for me, not you.” I looked at Sinc. “I think you should go home since Kyle and Ethan have left already.”

  “I’m all packed up. I was just waiting until Ethan had finished at my house.”

  I looked at Sasha. “Monday, Aaron’s weres will start building the Vamp Villa as Jackie calls it. Tomorrow night I’ll have a copy of the plans so you can look it over and pick out your rooms or suggest any ‘improvements’ you’d want to make. The entire house will be set up like my room, with metal shades that cover the windows during daylight hours. I’m making a couple of interrogation rooms in the basement. We’ll be able to keep any supes down there without a problem. Excluding the fae of course. Any fae problems are handed off to Lord Caelen, Aedus or Liam. As usual, torture is only allowed if we need to save innocent lives. I know that I haven’t always lived by that rule, but I think we should make a more determined effort.”

  “Will you tell us what happened to Jackie, while she was a prisoner?” Sinc’s eyes only showed a deep concern. She didn’t seem to be holding any grudges.

  “I can’t. She’ll have to tell you herself. It was bad, I can tell you that much. But she does have one very interesting bit of news to share with all of you at the meeting tomorrow night.”

  “I’ll be going now, then. Thanks for everything, Garrett.” Sinc got up and when Sasha made a move to follow her she shook her head and turned away.

  Sasha watched her walk up the stairs. “Looks like the honeymoon is over.” He only smiled and shrugged.

  “Garrett, when will Bridgett be back?” William looked a little anxious. “She’s okay, isn’t she?”

  “Yes, she’s fine. She found the exact spot where Kennet was keeping Jackie. She even jumped him and tried to rip his throat out when she was in cheetah form.“ That information made got a laugh out of them. ”And she officially apologized to the fae prisoners for what happened with her father, so now that’s all behind her.”

  “Great, thanks.” He looked relieved.

  I sent to Will, “You remember what I told you about taking it slow. She’s leaving in a week. She could be gone for two years.”

  “I understand. I’m not going to do anything stupid—Dad.” He smiled as I laughed and nodded at him. The change in William was quite remarkable. He was filling out as he continued to exercise, no longer the pathetic creature Eleanor had kept all skin and bones. His confidence had grown, as well as his sense of fun. He’d actually made a joke. Not something I’d ever have imagined happening a few months ago.

  I looked around the room. "Now that the Kennet crisis is averted, we’re going to get busy. There’s a stack of requests from people who need the team’s help so I’ll sort through them tomorrow afternoon and then we’ll discuss the ones with top priority at the meeting tomorrow night.”

  “I can help with that.” Sasha stared at me intently, waiting for me to say, no thanks. But I’d chosen him as my second and he’d handled himself well while I was gone, with the exception of agreeing to Sinc’s ridiculous let-me-hurt–Ethan-so-he-doesn’t-want-me-anymore plan.

  “Great, thanks Sash. I still want you to continue training Jackie, Will and even Bridgett, when she’s around. Then maybe at some point Kyle could come in and work with all of you on his modern inventions. They’re pretty cool actually.”

  “Sure.” Sasha looked relieved and a little bit excited, although he’d never admit to it.

  “Rick, how are you doing these days?”

  Heinrich, cocked an eyebrow and said, “Bored Garrett, if you want to know the truth. I could have helped with Kennet.”

  “I thought about it, but I needed you here protecting the shifters. I’ve been thinking about starting a security business. There’s always a need for protection. Maybe you and Sasha could run it together as equal partners. You could recruit some of Aaron’s weres or other vamps as long as they follow the rules. I’ll put up the seed money and then stay out of it, unless there’s a serious problem. The business would be all yours. I might need to hire your services on occasion myself.”

  Judging by their expressions, Sasha and Heinrich were counting up the money already. The more self reliant they became, the sooner I could let them go off on their own. Of course their independence was contingent on them sticking to their oaths to never kill, or harm an innocent. I would never unleash on the world another Eleanor or Antoine.

  “Garrett, we could definitely make that work.” Heinrich’s wheels were turning and I was happy to see that he was getting into the idea of running his own business. “Once we get this office up and running, we could base one in San Francisco which could also service Silicon Valley. I’d like to move back to the city. I’ve never really been a small town kinda guy.” He looked back at me a little sheepishly, suddenly realizing that what he was proposing was his independence, and had maybe gone a little too far.

  I kept my expression blank."That's a subject for a future talk. Let's concentrate on getting some clients first. I’ll talk to my accountant and we’ll set it up. Some of the requests on my desk are specifically for security, so Sasha and I will look them over and we’ll make a list for you guys to call.” Heinrich nodded. “I’m going out. I’ll be back in an hour.” I headed out to one of my donors, feeling good about what we’d discussed.

  Chapter Forty-eight

  Bridgett: 7:00 AM Sunday

  I got up at dawn and showered. I was packed and ready to leave when Liam arrived at 6:30 so he took me to see Lady D. before we left. She clasped my hands and told me I’d start out working with her next week. I actually hugged her, and she just laughed.

  We got to the house before 7:00 AM, and so I thanked Liam, then immediately ran up to my room, threw myself on my comfy bed and went back to sleep. A few hours later, Jackie was knocking on my door.

  “Come in,” I mumbled. She was still in her pajamas, so she crawled into my bed, put her head on the other pillow and turned toward me. It was always a shock looking at Jackie and seeing my eyes on her face, and my smile on her mouth. Of course she was much prettier, with her gorgeous thick hair and her straight nose and 5’9” runner’s body. But it still made me happy that you could tell we were sisters.

  “Bridgett, thank you for helping them find me. How do you feel? Does your stomach hurt from being punched? Does your head still hurt?”

  “I'm fine. But how are you?”

  She turned away and stared at the ceiling. “I don’t really know how I am. I had a horrible nightmare last night, I think I scared Garrett. Also I did something awful to Sinc. I exploded and lost control.“

  “What happened?”

  She sighed. “Everyone’s going to know by tonight’s meeting. I punched Sinc and broke her nose.”

  “What did she do to make you want to do that?”

  “It doesn’t matter, It was completely wrong of me. I feel awful.”

  “This was about Sasha right? Sinc was flirting with him for about a week. He didn’t really encourage her, but he is a guy. I don’t think he cares too much for Ethan.”

  “I think maybe we shouldn’t talk about it, it’s their business, okay?”

  “Sure.” I watched her watching me and wondered if I could talk to her about William. This would be the perfect time… “ Did anyone tell you about me and William?”

  She arched an eyebrow in curiosity. “Nooo. So tell me.”

  “I really like him, and I think he really likes me too.”

  She was grinning. “Did he kiss you?”

  “Yeah, and I kissed him back.” I was blushing but grinning now too. “Did you know that when Sasha brought me here after Kennet took you, that Garrett had William give me his blood to heal me?”

  “No, I didn’t know that. Taking blood can form a bond, at least for William." She looked me over again. "Was Garrett okay with you, then? I was worried.”

  “I think he was ready to kill me, but Liam calmed him down. I let him into my head so he could see what happened and then he was cool. He even apologized for scaring me.” I leaned a little closer so I could whisper. ”He was just as scary as Kennet, but I couldn’t blame him. He was frightened for you. And then he sent me William."

  “I think it’s great that you and William have gotten close. Just don’t rush anything.” She laughed suddenly and turned away again.

  “So what’s funny?”

  “Me telling you not to rush. I was practically throwing myself at Garrett on a daily basis.”

  “You did?” I moved a little closer, not wanting to miss anything juicy.

  “I wanted him and I couldn’t figure out why he wanted us to wait. I’d gone through a lot of traumatic shit when I was living as a human, and he kept saying I wasn’t ready and that I had to work through my feelings from the past. He was right about everything. I didn’t understand anything about real commitment: sharing everything, the good stuff and the bad. So when I was truly ready, it was perfect.”

  I sighed. “Garrett is the perfect male, isn’t he?”

  “No, he’s not perfect, but he’s definitely perfect for me. William is pretty cool too.”

  “He is, isn’t he?” We looked at each other and giggled softly. Her laughter was only half-hearted and her eyes were missing their usual spark. There was no getting past the fact that I was responsible. “Jackie, I’m sorry for going out and getting you caught. It was my fault that you got hurt. I wish I could go back in time to that night and change it.”

  “He would have gotten to me somehow. Garrett told me that you felt it when he whipped me and beat me.” I nodded. “That must have sucked.”

  “Not as much as it sucked for you.” She turned away again and looked back up at the ceiling. “I won’t ask you about it, unless you want me to.”

  “Not now.” She squeezed my hand. “I’m hungry, you want to grab some breakfast with me? I want to talk to Liam.”

  “Yeah, sure.” I hit the bathroom and then followed her downstairs. Liam was in the kitchen talking to Samson in Fae. As soon as Jackie entered the room, her canine guardian raced over and started licking her hands and then, when she bent down, her face. She was ticklish I guess, ‘cause she was giggling.

  “Hi Liam, what were you telling Samson?” I asked.

  “That he shouldn’t disturb Jackie while she’s sleeping, but it appears that she’s up after all. Are you both hungry? I’ve made eggs and bacon, but I could make you whatever you’d like.”

  The delicious smell of the bacon was making my mouth water.”I’m good with eggs and bacon, thanks.“ I sat down at the table, ready to consume huge platefuls.

  Jackie washed Samson’s kisses off of her hands at the sink. “That’s fine, Liam, can I help you dish it out?”

  “I live to serve, Miss Jacqueline.” He did a good British accent.