Chapter Two
Coffee.
Coffee was the only thing that could fix the shit in Lara’s life, and she knew just the place to go.
As fast as her little feet could carry her, she raced down the sidewalk, glad the gloomy weather was giving her a reason to hide her face. The last thing she wanted was for someone to see her on the verge of losing it, and after her day so far, the chance of that happening was pretty high.
Her hand reached the mint green door, and she could feel something welling up inside her, a feeling that just had to come out. Rage.
The door flew open, and she stared at Courtney. Her best friend’s eyes widened with shock.
“One of these days, I swear I’m going to cut that bastard’s balls off,” Lara nearly shouted.
As if just realizing they might not be alone. She looked around the room quickly. Her honey blond hair whipped around.
No one.
She let out a sigh of relief and shut the door. Open threats wouldn’t be good for either her career’s future or her friend’s business.
Courtney shook her head. Several long strands of curly hair slid down her shoulder.
“What now?” she said and grabbed a cup from behind the counter. "
The scent of the rich brew hit Lara, and she moved toward the steaming cup of comfort.
She slipped onto the stool and took a small sip of the hot bitter burst of aroma.
She set down the cup and stared across at her pretty doe-eyed friend.
“Peter.” She frowned. Lara would have thought she would be used to it by now. How things worked with him, the boss from hell. In her line of work, journalism, having breasts meant that she had to work ten times as hard. Having blond hair only made things worse. Like the color of her hair somehow indicated her intelligence. Just the idea of it set her blood boiling.
“Rotten bastard,” she said and thumped her fist against the counter. “I so want to tear his balls off.”
Courtney raised a brow. “That bad? I mean I know you don’t like the guy, but you’re not normally this angry.”
Lara looked up to her friend and sighed loudly. “You know all the movement that’s been going on up at the Azilian compound?”
Courtney nodded, and Lara leaned in.
“Well,” she said in a hushed tone. “All those trucks going up there. Aren’t you curious what’s going on? I mean it’s been months of that, and no one seems to care.”
Courtney shrugged and leaned back a little. She pulled out a cloth and started to wipe down the counter.
“I guess I’m curious, but don’t they always have trucks going up there? Doesn’t seem much different from normal. They keep to themselves, so I don’t really think about them much.”
Lara sighed. Maybe that prick Peter was right. No one in town cared what the silly cult up the road did. They’d been there since the early eighties, and if they hadn’t caused problems up to this point, it didn’t seem like they were going to start now. Even if they were up to something, it would be hard to prove. It wasn’t like they were going to invite her in and let her stroll around.
The Azilian compound was pretty well sealed up. The large gate at the front only gave a small view onto the place, and from what she’d heard, the whole thing was pretty large. Getting a peek at what was going on wouldn’t be easy, and if she were caught, it could mean trouble for her. Still, she had to know. This could be something big. She could smell it.
The sound of a car door broke her from her thoughts, and she looked out the window. A tall dark-haired man stepped out of the car. His muscles pulled at his long-sleeved shirt. Her eyes were pulled to another man as he stepped out.
Much like the driver, he was built like he worked out every second of the day. She followed his thick muscular body up to his dark face, his eyes hidden by the equally dark sunglasses he wore.
Her breath caught in her throat as she watched him, unable to look away.
“Wondered when we’d get to see them,” Courtney said from behind her. “Taylor saw them the other day, and she just went on and on about them. Guess they were at her dad’s ranch placing an order for a cow. She said they were pretty polite about the whole thing.”
“That’s good,” Lara said and glanced behind her. Taylor and her dad could use the money. After her divorce, no one really wanted much to do with her. Most people still thought she should have stuck it out, especially since her David had gone from small-town baseball star to minor-league player, enough of a celebrity for their little town of Eagle Ridge.
It was easy for them to live with his cheating and drinking, but they hadn’t seen the toll it had taken on his wife. The ranch was good for Taylor, and maybe this new business would help her get going again.
Lara’s mind clouded as the gorgeous black man stared directly at her. Her heart thumped hard in her chest as she stared back at him. Something about him made her blood pump. She smiled shyly, not really sure what she was doing. Flirting wasn’t her thing. She’d never even tried all that hard with most men. Who had the time or patience for that?
His mouth turned down into a scowl, and she faltered slightly. Had she done something wrong? The moment lost, she turned from him and put the handsome man out of her mind.
“I think I need a piece of cake,” she said to Courtney.
Cake was always a good idea.
Magnus watched as the pretty blond turned in her seat. Her back now facing him, he shook his head, trying to clear the image of her pale green eyes. An odd sense spread over him, as if he’d met her before somehow. It was silly, but he just couldn’t shake the feeling. A realization washed over him, and he grimaced.
“Something wrong?” Rem said from the sidewalk.
Magnus turned to look at the other man, who was smirking at him. Sometimes he really wanted to knock that look off Rem’s face.
He grunted his reply and shut the door.
It was obvious, and they both knew it. She was a Vestal. He could smell her. They both could. Something in him wanted to march into the cafe and toss her over his shoulder like he was some sort of caveman. Her very being called to him.
From the irritated stiffness in her back, Magnus had a feeling that wouldn’t go over too well. Not to mention that he didn’t need these sorts of problems. Bonding wasn’t something he could even think about right now. They’d just escaped from danger and who knew how long that would last. He didn’t need to bring someone else into this shit.
He turned and found Jenna leaning against the truck, head cocked to the side as she stared at him. A wide smile broke out on her face, and Magnus felt a sense of dread wash over him at that smile.
“I think I need a cup of tea,” she said, turning to Rem and still smiling.
He glanced over to the shop and then down at his woman.
“Is that so?” Rem grinned at her.
Jenna stood on her toes to kiss Rem and then walked casually across the street.
Magnus groaned a little. There was no way this was going to go well for him.
He turned around and glared at his leader.
“Can’t you control your woman?” he said.
Rem let out a bark of laughter.
“I doubt it, and I don’t want to get on her bad side trying,” he said. “I’d like to go to bed a happy man at night.”
Magnus grunted his annoyance and walked to the door of the little hardware store. They had things to buy, and he didn’t have time to think about pretty green-eyed blonds. He needed to keep his focus until they were sure they were safe.
Just the thought of her made him turn to glance at the large glass window across the way. Her striking eyes locked with his for just a moment, and it electrified him and consumed him.
The moment was lost when she looked to the door as Jenna stepped in.
He knew he shouldn’t think it, but a small part of himself that he didn’t really want to admit was glad Jenna went over, if anything just so he would have the chance of knowing.
Magnus snorted and moved into the store, Rem not far behind.
“We need some underground cabling,” Magnus said, again trying to focus his mind.
“You know you could talk to her,” Rem said as he rummaged through the shelves.
He glanced at his leader from the corner of his eye.
“Talk to who?” he said, trying his best to keep his voice apathetic.
Rem ignored his attempt to dodge the conversation.
“Not many chances to meet women,” he said and examined some cabling he’d found. Magnus watched as the tricky man glanced over to him. “Especially that kind of woman. You might not get an opportunity again like this. We both know it.”
His heart thumped hard at the thought. This might very well be his only chance. The mysterious Vestals, after all, were their only chance at a true connection. Even the Horatius Group didn’t seem to totally understand the details.
Magnus looked out the window to the women across the street. The pretty blond smiled warmly at Jenna, and he could feel himself pulled to her.
He shook his head. As much as he might want to, this wasn’t the time.
When he turned back to Rem, he must have seen his resolve and sighed.
“Sometimes you just have to take risks, even when it seems like the shittiest time,” Rem said. “Trust me. I know.”
Magnus shook his head.
“I can’t,” he said quietly. “Not now.”
“Someday you’ll want to take the risk,” Rem said. “Just don’t be afraid when it’s time.”
Magnus nodded, not quite sure what to say.
He nearly jumped when Rem clapped him on the back.
“Now let’s buy some damn cabling,” Rem said and grinned.