KNIGHT
Chapter 5
The small private airport in Palm Desert was further removed from the town proper than Alexia hoped. Two Latino men in their late twenties met their car when they drove up to the chain linked fence next to the lighted runway. Jake shook hands with the shorter man who immediately went rigid when Neil opened Alexia’s door and she stepped out.
He rounded on Jake. “No mention was made of transporting a human across the border, Bryant. That’s against the law and you know it.”
“It’s complicated, Ramirez,” Jake said, gesturing to talk with him out of earshot.
Reluctantly the two men followed Jake towards the small terminal building, and they began to hold a rapid-fire conversation that Alexia couldn’t hear. By Neil’s slightly changing expressions and clenching jaw, she could tell he did though. Obviously supersonic hearing was another of their abilities.
A few minutes later, Ramirez took out a cellphone.
“Why did he automatically think that I’m human?” she asked Neil.
“Scent,” was all he said, visually challenging the two were-coyotes with his expression and body stance each time they periodically glared in their direction.
“Well, great then! If I’m just human, then all this is for nothing, right? Let’s just call it a draw, and you guys can go home without me. I’ll even contact my uncle to pick me up here in town. No harm, no foul.”
When he didn’t reply, her hope for release dissolved.
Scowling in her direction, Ramirez hung up and nodded. Jake looked only slightly relieved when the other man followed him back towards them, while the shorter headed into the terminal.
“Miguel Hernandez, this is my partner Neil Duran,” Jake introduced. “And our guest, Stacey Walton.”
Alexia hiked a brow at Neil who gave her a warning look. She could have spilled the beans then, but doubted this were-coyote would help her anyhow.
“The Juarez High Alpha insists on using their pilot if we want to use their plane,” Jake explained with a noted expression to Neil. “We have no choice.”
Alexia observed that this was not good news for Neil or Jake, and wondered why.
“I’ll call our FBO in Tacoma,” Jake added pointedly. “We should be wheels-down in three hours.”
“I’ll call Ian to pick us up there,” Neil said. “Watch her.”
She snarled at him, then shook her head at Jake that she wouldn’t be any trouble. Like them, she didn’t have a choice at this point either. She would go along, meet her birthfather, then demand he have her released. It was the least he owed her. And her mother.
Neil returned a few minutes later and handed Alexia a large dark blue tee-shirt. “The restroom is in the terminal. You have ten minutes, and then I’m coming in whether you’re decent or not.”
She was about to refuse the shirt, then realized how grimy, bloody and shredded hers was. Her scrub pants were worse, but doubted he had anything that would fit her. Alexia tore the shirt from his hands and stormed into the tiny building.
The women’s room wasn’t hard to find in such small quarters. Inside the single-stall restroom, she debated leaving a note for someone to find, then immediately discarded the idea. Not that she had anything to write with anyhow. Not that Neil Duran wouldn’t check after she exited. Or the other were-creatures would bother to help her even if the message was discovered.
There was one small high window. Alexia looked around and grabbed the metal trashcan, turning it over to stand on.
Rising up on her toes, it took a couple of hard raps, but she managed to push the sticking frosted glass pane open. Even then she still had to jump to get a good grip on the ledge and pull herself up. Unfortunately, she was only able to get her head and part of her right shoulder out before realizing this was definitely not going to be an option.
Giving up, she dropped back down, the can skidding sideways, and she fell hard on her side, yelping. Her already bruised arm now radiated screaming agony as she slowly pushed herself up.
This was it then. Her last chance at freedom gone.
Defeated, Alexia used the facilities, then pulled off her scrub shirt and tossed it aside, not bothering with the trash littering across the floor. Let the frigging coyotes clean it up.
After washing some of the sweat and grit off her arms and face, for the first time she took notice of the patchwork of bandages. It was disconcerting remembering how Neil gently cared for each scrape as if she was something soft and fragile. She cracked a small smile, replaying each moment.
Alexia shook the warming image of him from her head, then pulled on the oversized tee-shirt that now hung like a short dress. Immediately she went rigid, the musky, earthy scent of Neil Duran all over her now. Although it was enticing in a very twisted, Stockholm syndrome sort of way, the last thing she wanted was to smell like that wolf jerk.
She considered pulling her own shirt back on, then saw the shredded blue cloth bunched in the corner on top of a pile of wet, sloppy trash. At least this was clean and in one piece. Hopefully she wouldn’t be wearing it very long anyhow.
Exiting the bathroom, Alexia spotted Duran leaning against the nearby wall with his muscular arms crossed.
“Ready and unwilling to leave,” she grumbled, walking towards the building entrance. “Let’s get this over with.”
He caught her arm as she walked passed, then slid off the wall and hauled her back into the ladies’ room. He thoroughly checked all around the walls, window, sinks and mirrors and inside the stall. Satisfied that she hadn’t left anything behind, he towed her back out and jutted his chin for her to head outside, following two steps behind.
“Had a little trouble in there, did you?” he remarked as they walked through the opened gate of the chain linked fence.
“The coyotes should clean their restrooms better.”
Alexia wondered if he’d heard the commotion with his supernatural hearing, then wanted to kick him again because she knew he had and let her play out her escape attempt and hurt herself worse in the process. Any previous kind thoughts she had towards him minutes ago were absolutely squashed.
“I knew you’d check,” she added, walking along the tarmac.
“I’m sure you did,” he said.
“Then why did you bother? It would’ve been stupid of me to leave any message.”
“You could’ve counted on me second-guessing you and deciding against it, then pulled the switch.”
Alexia shrugged, giving him that. It might’ve actually worked too, except that he did check in the end.
“By the way,” she said as they boarded the small plane. “I was awake, jerk face.”
Jake was sitting in the copilot seat with a headset on, eyes widening at her comment. Duran quirked the corners of his mouth, then climbed into the rear passenger’s seat next to her and tossed two duffel bags behind them.
The pilot climbed in last, then did his preflight checks, talking into his headset. But Alexia caught his resentful glare at her, and his slight cringe at Neil Duran’s low-throated growl.
Alexia was exhausted enough to sleep, but too wracked from the ordeal to do anything except watch everyone or stare out the window to the black sky.
The deafening roar of the engine and propellers and maybe the altitude itself gave her a wicked headache after the first hour. Somehow sensing this, Neil offered her a small packet of Ibuprofen, but she pulled her palm away from her throbbing forehead and shook her head.
“Don’t be a martyr,” he said, placing it into her hand anyhow with a bottle of water.
Conceding, Alexia took them both.
By the time they were ready to land, her headache had gratefully dulled to a low pulse between her eyes. They touched down, then taxied to another private hangar.
Cool, damp air hit Alexia’s face as she disembarked. Pine and greenery filled her nose, mixed with the brine and diesel smells of the nearby coastal metropolis. She could almost taste the salty rust in the air too.
Her body still shook with the phantom vibrations of the plane, and she shivered from the new assaulting frigid climate. Neil was on her heels with the duffel bags. A brown SUV waited at the terminal entrance. He opened the back door, and she reluctantly climbed in.
“Neil,” the driver greeted him.
“Ian,” Neil returned, tossing the duffels in the back.
“So this is the little troublemaker?” the driver remarked with a grin. He had bushy brown curls and the look of a young computer software geek, minus the eyeglasses.
“Understatement.”
She sneered at Neil for the crack, but was too tired to do anything more.
“Hi Alexia, I’m Ian Townsend, one of your father’s Gamma-three business managers. It’s really an honor to meet you.”
“His what?” she asked, rubbing her forehead tiredly.
“Never mind,” Neil said. “Jake will be here in a minute. Got anything cold?”
Townsend rummaged through a small cooler sitting upfront and tossed back a small bottled orange juice, then asked, “Would you like anything to drink, Alexia? Pop, juice, water? We’re going to be driving awhile.”
She shook her head, which she then laid back on the soft leather seat. Neil had guzzled the entire bottle in seconds, tossing the empty plastic bottle behind him. Alexia almost dozed off, then jolted awake when Jake finally showed up, sitting in the front passenger’s seat.
“Doubt if we fooled the coyotes with the switch in airports,” he said, “but at least they won’t have a clue where we really hole up. They would’ve just tracked their plane if one of us flew it into Yakima anyhow, so it all worked out for the best.”
When Alexia shivered, Neil reached behind the seat and pulled over a small, thin blanket. It was made of gray wool or something equally as coarse and scratchy, but she appreciated the warmth it provided as she huddled under it, pulling it up to her chin.
It started to rain as soon as they hit the freeway, then let up slightly when they drove down more secluded rural roads, coming down harder the further they drove. The constant, intermittent swish of the wiper blades against the windshield drove her bonkers, until she was ready to tear the rubber blades out of their hinges.
Alexia had no idea where they were or how far they were going. Maybe if just one person had talked, she wouldn’t have been so stir-crazy. Even the radio would’ve helped.
It felt like they drove for hours, although it was probably more like only one. With the stress and confusion and late hour, her eyelids grew heavy and her mind dark and muddy, until all the fight left in her was completely drained and her entire body relaxed.
Neil jerked slightly when Alexia’s head lolled and pressed against his bicep, her soft white-blond hair brushing up against his arm giving him an uncomfortable rush. When she snuggled deeper into his arm and she let go of a long, soft sigh, a warmth flooded through him that he swore showed on his expression.
He was tempted to nudge her away. Fast. Still, it was the first moment she actually slept since this ordeal for her began, and he couldn’t begrudge her a bit of relief.
He would just suck it up and allow her to lean against him, deal with the weird, too pleasant sensations washing over him.
“How was it?” Ian asked quietly.
Neil shrugged, shook his head. “Typical rescue. In and out.”
Jake hiked a brow at him, knowing the truth. Killing the nephew of the Talanov High Alpha was going to be politically ugly. Could even start a war that none of them wanted.
Not that Sasha gave him much choice.
It was now going to take his foster father’s best diplomatic power to solve this political crisis. Fortunately, Rob could deal successfully with it.
The last time there was a confrontation, it was in neutral territory, and the Talanovs had as much right to be there as Neil when trying to locate one of their own strays—the son of a Pack council member, one who left their territory against direct orders.
The kid got into a nasty scrape with a royal Talanov female and almost got himself killed in the process when her bodyguards discovered them in some hotel. Fortunately for the boy, Neil got there in time. Unfortunately, that meant taking out the two bodyguards and Rob Bryant going to the Were High Council to plead his case and have his arrest pardoned.
Neil squeezed his eyes shut, resisting the strong urge to swing his arm around Alexia’s shoulder and tuck her into his ribs and doze off himself. Actually, it would have been more comfortable, since his arm was starting to fall asleep after riding like this for the past hour.
He exhaled hard, blinked harder, trying to keep himself from drifting off. There would enough time for shuteye after meeting with his H.A. and finally handing off this volatile girl. And be glad for it.
Alexia realized that at some point she must have drifted off, because she startled awake when the car jolted hard from a pothole. She flushed seeing that she had been sleeping against Neil’s arm, then mouthed her apology and scooted further away so she didn’t make that mistake again.
After much too long on the winding forested roads, she groaned and turned to Neil. “How much longer? We’ve been driving for hours.”
“Just under three,” Neil said. “Sit tight, we’re almost there.”
“So where is there?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
Great. Should’ve known he’d be less than helpful with information.
A lot more time passed. Finally the SUV slowed and turned down another forested single lane road, then wound lazily through ancient towering trees. With no lighting whatsoever, it made the tunnel-like trip pitch black and Halloween eerie.
Fifteen minutes later, the vehicle stopped, the headlights shining onto a twenty-foot iron gate enclosed by an equally high stone wall disappearing into the dark woods in both directions. The driver Ian got out and lumbered up to the callbox on the right and pushed a button. A small camera mounted on the rock wall moved slightly towards him, and he displayed a photo ID card, then held it under a red scanning beam.
The gates electronically parted, and Ian walked back and sat behind the wheel, driving forward. The gates automatically closed after they drove through.
Another ten minutes, and the dense forest broke away to large acres of pasture and meadows on both sides, which Alexia could only tell because of the ability to see the moon and stars breaking through the dark, patchy clouds. They passed a lake and drove over a short bridge built over a river.
Curiosity woke her a little more when she spotted a luminous glow over the distant rolling hills. Once over the last rise, she finally saw the light source—a myriad of houses and buildings all spread out in the valley below them.
It was some kind of a town. When they drove closer she spotted a huge mansion in the center of everything built in rustic but elegant log cabin design. It reminded her of the ski lodge she and her family vacationed outside of Aspen years ago, but even more beautiful and enormous with several stone chimneys and balconies. By the windows she counted the place to be at least four or five stories high.
“Where are we?” she asked when they parked in front of the huge hotel type building.
Ian opened her door with a wide grin. “Welcome to Timber Ridge Lodge, Alexia. You’re really fortunate to come here right off the bat. Most Pack members never get to see this place. It even took all of your dad’s pull to hire me on to work here in the community. Of course, I had to get on his good side—”
Jake shot him a silencing look. “We should go in. My dad will be waiting for us.”
Neil kept close beside Alexia as they all walked through the entrance double doors. It opened to what appeared to be an expansive lobby of some five-star resort, complete with plush oversized couches and chairs, all arranged around a stone fireplace so large a person could have easily walked inside it. The high-beam ceiling reached three of the four stories it displayed from the outside, each level separated by its own wide staircase and glass platforms leading to back hallways.
“Is this a hotel?” she asked, looking around in amazement.
“No,” Ian said. “This is where the H.A.’s family lives and all the senior members stay or meet or work. Mostly Alphas or Betas and a few high Deltas. The rest of us only work—”
“Townsend,” Jake sharply cut him off.
For the first time Alexia saw this Jake Bryant in a serious, authoritative position. Before this, he had seemed like any other college party-guy looking for the next good time. Maybe she had him pegged wrong.
Of course, she never was a good judge of people. That’s how she got caught up in the mess with Ryan McCormack at the hospital in the first place.
The reminder of her old boyfriend made her wince. It had been so easy to like Ryan from the first, so natural to fall hard for him. He was good-looking and charming and pursued her with a vengeance when they both hired on as first-year interns that was beyond flattering.
Secret make-out sessions in the hospital storage rooms became a frequent practice. Study nights usually ended up with them doing everything but studying. They talked about becoming Residents and even Fellows at the same hospital someday, a real future together.
Of course, that’s when Alexia still believed in true love. After all, her parents had it. Others, too. Why not her?
It had been five months into their relationship before she discovered that Ryan McCormack had been playing her all along, and that he never…
“Alexia,” Neil said, nudging her lightly.
She snapped out of her bitter reverie and continued moving forward. Covering a yawn with the back of her hand, she looked over to the antique grandfather clock in one of the far corners. It was almost five in the morning.
Jake texted on his cellphone, and it buzzed in return. “Dad’s waiting for us in his office.”
Alexia followed both men down a few long, carpeted hallways and into a large corner office. A tall man with styled black hair and dressed in business casual wear stood with his back to them, gazing outside the large paned window. When he turned around, Alexia was surprised by how young he was, not more than thirty to thirty-five.
Wait, didn’t Jake refer to him as ‘dad’?
Of course, maybe he was someone else entirely. A brother or cousin or something.
Still, by his strong, confident bearing, there was no questioning his authority. Alexia looked up to Neil and Jake standing almost at attention beside her.
Yes, no matter his youthful appearance, he was definitely the man in charge here.
“Alexia Raine?” he said with a slight smile that made his dark, attractive features even more appealing. He crossed the room with outstretched right hand. “I’m Robert Bryant, head of our organization here. Very pleased to meet you.”
She accepted his handshake. The warm exchange made her flush and look down for some odd reason. He chuckled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze before using it to guide her to sit beside him on the corner couch.
Still clutching her hand, he lightly patted her knee with his other, his sensuous touch quickening her lower belly. Alexia swallowed hard as she looked up into his smoky silver eyes, the intensity capturing her with a raw possessiveness that she couldn’t pull her stare from.
Even the air around him seemed to draw her closer. There was such a dazzling charisma that rolled off him like his delicious expensive cologne. Alexia unwillingly leaned forward to take in the intoxicating scent, so close that she could actually smell his minty breath. It made her head fuzzy, her entire body relax with liquid contentment, wanting to snuggle into his broad, comforting chest…
Neil cleared his throat, breaking the weird connection. Alexia blinked hard, then quickly recovered her wits and leaned away.
“So, you’re the secret Erik Leonid’s been hiding all these years,” Rob Bryant remarked with another inviting smile.
She could now see where Jake inherited his appealing personality, although their actual physical features were not all that similar. Alexia figured that Jake must take after his mother and wondered if the woman was there at the lodge somewhere.
The reminder of Robert Bryant’s marital status made her gently pull her hand from his and inch further away from his magnetic touch.
“I suppose so,” she said nervously. “Unfortunately, he seems to have kept the secret from me as well.”
Bryant chuckled. “You sound just like him.”
The reference to her similarity with this Leonid guy got her dander up, but she restrained her sharp retort to the contrary.
“If you say so.”
“Well, you’ll be able to make your own assessment soon enough,” he said. “I know you must be exhausted after your trip, so I don’t want to keep you longer than necessary. I just wanted to personally welcome you here to Timber Ridge. If there’s anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable, please let me know.”
How about letting me go home?
“Thank you,” she said instead.
As Bryant pulled out his cellphone and texted, Alexia looked over to Neil who appeared more at ease now that she was sitting further away from her host.
Three minutes later, a young woman with a wiry orange ponytail and dressed in a housekeeper’s uniform knocked and entered. She had a heart-shaped face that was heavily freckled and was on the shorter, stouter side, although she was still taller than Alexia’s five-foot, one-inch of height.
“You needed me, Mr. Bryant?” she asked nervously.
He stood, taking Alexia’s hand to help her up as well. “Yes, thank you, Deena. Can you please show Ms. Raine here to her guest room?”
“Yes, sir. I have room three-eleven all ready for her like you asked.”
He nodded. “Excellent. Alexia, you should rest up before meeting with the rest of the clan. Deena Hudson here will show you the way.”
There was an odd panic as Alexia turned to Neil who had now somehow become her security blanket at the end of this dreadful night. Her stare locked with his for just a moment, and he sent her a quick, reassuring smile and nod. Then she turned and followed the young housekeeper down the hallway.
Deena chatted quickly as she led them down two more corridors and towards the elevator near the main lobby.
“I’m sure you’ll have the best time here, Alexia. Can I call you Alexia? Sorry to seem so excited, but we hardly house women here in the main Lodge, just annoying old men coming for quarterly Pack presentations or business meetings. They treat any female like their own personal servant, if you know what I mean.”
She prattled on as they rode the elevator to the third floor, but Alexia’s mind was so hazy from lack of sleep that she didn’t hear much of what was said. It wasn’t until they walked down the last long hallway that she tried to focus on the girl’s rushed conversation.
“…be able to access the main Lodge with your keycard, but not the other buildings. There’s usually someone working who can open the doors for you anyhow, so that shouldn’t be a problem. At night, only those who live around here will be able to let you into their offices though. But if it’s the weekend, just see me, and my master passkey usually works those too.”
“Do you live here then?” Alexia asked.
Her face lit with a rosy grin. “Oh, no. I’m just a Zeta-two and live in one of the outlying towns. Kennewick. Yes, it’s a drive, but this is just my weekend job anyhow. Normally I waitress at the restaurant on First Street near my apartment. I prefer that to housekeeping here. Nothing against the Lodge, of course. My boyfriend’s uncle owns it. The restaurant, I mean. Not here, of course. Anyhow, that’s where I met Steven, my boyfriend. He’s their main cook. You should stop by when you’re in town.”
“Sure, sounds good.”
“I hear that you didn’t have time to pack, so you’re going to need to do some clothes shopping. But Mr. Bryant asked if I could have some stuff brought up for you to change into later. My little sister is about your size, so I’ll have her bring a few things over. Oh sorry, I’m talking your ear off, and you look dead on your feet. Here we go.”
She used a keycard to open up one of the doors, and Alexia walked into a contemporary hotel type room with several amenities, including a private bathroom. The best part about it was the plush king-sized bed all ready for her to collapse into.
Deena handed her the keycard. “Just buzz the front desk if you need anything, and tell them to send me. I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”
“Thanks, Deena. This has all been…overwhelming. It’s nice to have a friend around here I can go to.”
“Awesome,” she said, beaming wider. “Have a good rest.”
That, Alexia assured her, she would definitely be able to do.
After the girl left, Alexia shut the door and wandered over to the window. Dawn was breaking over the distant forested hillside from the window, and the first thing she planned to do was shut the filmy curtains against the hateful rising daylight.
Her hand was on the pull cord when she spotted a lone figure in the shadowy tree line below.
At first glance Alexia thought it was Jake Bryant, his height, frame and hair color very similar. For a moment, she wondered what he was doing slumming around outside her window.
Her hand lifted automatically to wave at him, then froze when the man stepped out into the growing daylight from the forest. He wasn’t Jake, just another young man around the same age. Yet, Alexia couldn’t take her eyes from him, having the oddest feeling she knew him from somewhere.
He looked up at her and smiled wide, and her breath caught, finally recognizing him. She knew exactly who he was!
Hello, Alexia, a male voice spoke quietly inside her head. I am truly looking forward to meeting you. My God, you look just like your mother.