Chapter Fourteen

Rett

 

These summer storms were starting to get to me.

It had been raining for the past three days, starting almost the moment we’d left Cobalt. Occasional thunder ripped across the sky, and more than one road had flooded out. I was either out in the rain, checking on people, or trapped inside, unable to pull my mind toward the stacks of paperwork I had. Xander and Luke had both said not to worry about it, that they’d find someone to take over, but, as of yet, they’d both been too busy. I’d been doing my best, but I was now weeks behind.

Then there was Laia.

She was finally well enough to travel to Veda, and the skies had opened up. Not the greatest omen in the world, but I tried to remain optimistic. She'd certainly been making the best of it, getting some light workouts in, trying out new recipes, hanging with my family, and reading.

Of course, there was also the fact that I hadn’t told her we were going to Veda yet. Or about the punishment claim. There just never seemed to be a good time to bring it up.

While we still had our moments of banter and lightness, I’d been too busy to spend any significant amount of time with her. So, I found myself wondering what she was doing, what she was thinking, and how she’d handle any situation that popped up.

Laia was in my head, and there was no getting her out.

At least, for all the rain and work, things were otherwise quiet in Winfyre. No Excris sightings, no unusual border activity, and most people were talking about how the rain was a blessing for the farms. Everyone was cheerfully putting their best foot forward, except for me.

No, I was wearing down a path in my office again, wasting time wondering where Tristan was. I’d just gotten word he’d missed another check-in. That wasn’t so unusual, but this was supposed to be the final one before he came back home.

My stomach clenched. What if he was in trouble?

The five of us always assumed we’d know, through shifter intuition or our long years of friendship, if one of us were in dire trouble. Or if something worse happened.

Memories of fire and fury flashed behind my eyes. We’d known then, but perhaps that was an extreme case. I dragged a hand over my face and stared out at the sodden yard, the mists obscuring the forest and bay, and the dark skies. It felt more like November than July.

There was a light knock. Without looking over my shoulder, I said, “Come in.”

“I think you should take a break.”

Laia’s voice, as always, had my heart rate clocking dangerous speeds. The extra added surprise of her visiting my office made it worse. Every muscle went rigid as I forced myself not to turn around. Her scent tickled my nose, and I almost groaned.

“Rett.”

"Can't," I tried to say in a breezy tone, but it came out like a grunt.

“I know I’m not supposed to bother you, but it’s nearly two in the afternoon. You’ve been up since dawn, you haven’t eaten, you’ve barely slept—”

“How do you know that?” I asked, half-glancing over my shoulder.

Laia came around me and put her hands on her hips, giving me a look. Now that she was back to her usual self, sparkling and smiling, the black eye completely gone, it was like trying to dodge the sun. Warmth suffused me, and I blinked, looking away.

“I’ll be there in a little while,” I fibbed.

“Rett Deacon, you are a terrible liar,” Laia said.

She caught my wrist and squeezed it. Electricity pooled and sparked under her touch, leaving imprints after she let me go. I almost asked her to keep holding on.

“Please?” Her eyes were a limpid amber I couldn’t resist. “Please.”

“Fine,” I muttered. “But it has to be quick.”

Her smile had a triumphant edge as she sailed by me, her skirt swirling around her ankles. I followed and ran my eyes over her. My cousin Corinna had been sending her over clothes, and while I could appreciate my cousin’s eye, it was also pure torture. Laia was distracting enough in leggings and a tank top, never mind these pretty things that cupped her curves in ways that made me envious.

It was strange. I’d never really noticed things like that before with a woman. Clothes and stuff, I mean. Sure, I saw when they looked nice or if something was flattering, but not like this. Then again, I’d never lived with a woman I wasn’t related to.

Or with a woman I had to put on a façade of friendship with.

“What do you want for lunch? Chicken salad? Egg salad?” Laia asked when we entered the kitchen. “Regular salad?”

“Anything is fine,” I said, dropping onto a stool and sighing. Then I caught myself. “Geez, Laia, here I go expecting you to serve me. I can get it. Why don’t you sit—”

“Rett, I offered,” Laia said and waved at me to remain seated. “Let me take care of things for a change. I’ve got my feet under me now, so you don’t have to worry.”

“I see that,” I said and leaned my cheek on a hand. “Back to full strength, huh?”

“Yes,” Laia said cheerfully. “One hundred percent.”

Shit, that means we have to go to Veda soon. I have to tell you…everything.

“No, um, episodes, right?” I asked, the words heavy and pulling apart that hole in my chest. “No, you’d tell me.” I lifted my eyes. “Right?”

“No episodes,” Laia said airily. “And yeah, sure, if you want to know.”

“I should know,” I said. “Hey, maybe that last one was a fluke or the last flare-up.”

There was a hungry undercurrent of hope in my voice, and Laia cast me a curious look.

“I wish you wouldn’t worry about it, Rett,” she said.

“While you’re here, it’s my responsibility,” I said, wishing I was doing this out of duty and not for all the wrong reasons, reasons that rent my heart. “And I want you to be well.”

Something flickered in Laia’s eyes, and she nodded. “What’s got you so tired, today?”

“Million things to catch up on,” I said. “We’re stretched thin, and things have piled up.”

“Like what?”

“Double-checking patrol schedules in my sector, following up on any new construction, shipping manifests, refugee outreach—it goes on and on.”

“Could I help?” Laia asked as she cut up a tomato. “Wait, should I be helping?” She whipped around to face me and brandished her knife. “I completely forgot about what you said.”

“When?” I asked.

“The first night I came here, you mentioned a predator’s price,” Laia said and rolled her eyes. “Was that Tristan’s idea?”

“No, that was all of us and the community leaders,” I said and rubbed my eyes. Now that I was sitting down, listening to the rain and to Laia, I was getting comfortable. “He may have come up with the wording, or that might have been Xander. I don’t remember.”

She nodded and went back to making lunch. “What’s mine?”

“Helping me,” I said, and she gave me an exasperated look. “When you’re better.” I straightened and fidgeted on the stool, causing it to groan. “About that, Laia…um…”

“Should I start today?” she asked.

“No,” I said. After Veda.

But I couldn’t bring myself to tell her and changed the subject, asking her why she thought Tristan had come up with that name. She launched into a story about him, and I watched her move around, sure and confident, so different from the woman who had dragged herself in here. Yet the grit that had gotten Laia here was still apparent in the flash of her eyes and the toss of her head.

Once she’d finished making two sandwiches, complete with side salads and drinks, she carried the plates into the living room against my protests, while I carried the drinks.

“Sitting down on something comfortable for five minutes won’t make you any less of a badass bear,” Laia said, and I reluctantly sat down next to her. “Wow, it’s like pulling teeth with you.”

“When I should be working, yeah,” I growled and took the plate.

“Did you take breaks before I barged into your life?” Laia asked. “Or remember to eat before you were an absolute bear?”

“Excuse me, I am a grown man,” I shot at her.

Laia gave me a curving, amused smile. "Oh, honey, that doesn't mean squat." My jaw gritted, and she laughed. “Listen, I don’t mean you need me to take care of you, although sometimes, yeah, I think it might do you good. But you need to have someone watching out for you. I mean, it seems like you’re the one doing all the watching. Who has your back?”

“My family, your cousin, the guys,” I said.

“Under protest from you, I’m sure,” Laia said, and I ignored that, taking a bite. She suddenly sighed and sat back, not eating hers.

I shot her a look as I swallowed. “Why aren’t you eating?”

Laia picked up her sandwich and took a small bite. I’d seen her happily devour meals around me, and I’d liked her all the more for it. Had I said something to upset her?

“What’d I do now?” I asked.

“Nothing,” Laia said and took another bite, chewing thoughtfully. “I think I get it now, though.” She glanced at me sideways. “How’s the grub?”

“Oh, it’s really good, thank you,” I said.

We both drifted into our own thoughts, and I finished eating before she did. However, I made no moves to get up. The couch was really comfortable and was doing wonders for my tight shoulders.

Laia finished and put her plate down with a deliberate kind of thud. “Rett.”

“Laia.”

“I want to be your assistant.”

I made a choking, coughing sound and sat up, looking at her and shaking my head, not sure I’d heard correctly. There was a faint pink flush in Laia’s cheeks, and her gaze didn’t swerve away.

“You want—you want to work for me?” I asked. Like Reagan does for Luke, and that—stop.

“I want to help you out,” Laia said. “I mean, preferably we’d be equals, but I get that you’re a Command. A partner, maybe. I’d be a confidant who’d pick up some of the slack.”

“A partner,” I said thoughtfully. Of course Laia would come up with that. I had to admit, though, it sounded appealing. “But, I’m not sure I have anything that would interest you.”

“I don’t care,” Laia said. “I’ll make it interesting.” I was still trying to process all of this, and she poked my leg. “Come on, Rett, I’m sitting around doing nothing productive.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll figure something out, and you’ll start tomorrow.”

Laia smiled at me as I sat back, a little overwhelmed by what had just happened.

This girl had some kinda way of integrating herself into my life.

More than that, though, I kept letting her.

 

The partnership idea, strange as it was, had also given me a perfect opening for going over the terms of Laia’s stay in Winfyre. Something that would change once we’d gone to Veda, and her cousin came back. Plus, I imagined that at some point, she’d want to live in Veda, since the rest of the Llarys were there. That thought hit me hard, but I ignored it.

There were more important things than my feelings for Laia.

I had a stack of things for her to do and had set her up in an alcove in the room next to mine. As I sat her down and went through everything, Laia was beaming.

“This is great. I can’t wait to dig in,” she said.

“Take it easy,” I said. “If it’s too much, slow down.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Laia said, reaching for a folder.

I hesitated, then nodded and let her get to it. I’d tell her about the conditions tomorrow.

By the end of the day, Laia had torn through almost a week’s worth of work. She was even more impressive the next day, and the day after that. We fell into a good rhythm, and I looked forward to her coming to get me for lunch. Sometimes we’d argue over Winfyre problems. It was nice to have someone to talk about this stuff with. I could see why Luke relied so much on Reagan.

By the end of the week, I had to remind Laia to take breaks.

However, now even more time had passed, and I hadn’t revealed the rest of the conditions. Hadn’t told her about the Coven or anything. I was making it worse on myself each time I delayed.

Finally, I forced myself to walk in there and get it over with. Laia spun in her chair and smiled at me as I sat down across from her, rubbing the back of my neck.

“Laia…”

“Uh oh, am I in trouble?” she asked.

“God no, you’re amazing—you’ve helped me so much, but there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you…” For the past, uh…

Damn, Laia would have been here a whole month in a few days.

She pulled in an unsteady breath and sat up, her fingers lacing together under her chin.

“You broke the Law when you came into Winfyre,” I blurted out. “You know that.”

“Oh,” Laia said, and she shook her head. “That’s…uh, yeah, okay, I know that.” Suddenly, her expression hardened. “What, do I have to join a chain gang?”

“No, because the circumstances around your particular lawbreaking were unusual and done with the best of intentions, we came up with an alternative,” I said in one rush. “That way, if word got out, it wouldn’t seem like you were being shown some kind of special treatment.”

Laia nodded. “And this alternative was what?”

“This,” I said and gestured at the desk. Laia’s face went from guarded to an absolute mask. “No, it’s not bad. See, I got to set the terms of it since I claimed you as punishment, and that makes—”

“You did what?” Her voice was soft and shocking, trembling through the room. She sat back, gripping the chair and staring at me, her chest rising and falling. “It wasn’t a…of course it wasn't."

“I mean, you were also claimed in the usual way,” I said lamely. “But we had to add the punishment, especially after the brawl. Malloy is young and—”

“I get it,” Laia said and looked out the window, her fingers now clenched into fists.

“Do you?” I asked. “It’s not a bad thing, Laia. The other option was to throw you out or put you in a holding cell. For now, you stay with me, and I—”

“And you make sure I don’t get into trouble, right?” Laia asked.

“Pretty much impossible, right?” I tried to joke. A gulf was opening between us, and it gave me an uneasy, paranoid feeling. I didn’t know what else to say, but I blurted out, “I’m sorry.”

She didn’t reply, still staring out the window.

“I wanted to tell you sooner. I mean, it didn’t mean anything to me one way or the other. I was happy to help you, and I wanted you to get well. Like I said, I’d do anything for the Llarys.”

“Sure,” Laia said and tapped a pen on the desk. “Anything else?”

Shaking my head, I stood up and stretched. Then I winced. “Actually…”

Laia turned and gave me an incredulous look. “Am I going to get a custom pair of cuffs?”

“Maybe a muzzle,” I said, and her nostrils flared. “Bad joke, sorry. No. It’s been decided we’re going to go to Veda so you can meet with the Coven and get that weapon looked at.”

“What?” Laia said and stood up. “Are you telling me no one has looked at that weapon yet?” Her chest rose and fell. “It’s here?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Things have been busy.”

“Did I not make it clear how dangerous that thing was? How much of a priority it needed to be?” Laia hissed and spun around. “I get that my entrance was laughable, but—”

“It wasn’t,” I said. “It was concerning.”

“I thought someone was looking at it, I thought…” Laia blew out a bitter breath. “When can we go to see the Coven?”

“As soon as the weather clears up,” I said. “The Farline Pass is closed, so we’re going to take the long way up the coast. Gonna take about a week since you can’t shift.”

“Another week?” Laia asked. “It needs to go now, Rett. Seriously, send your fastest shifter.”

“Laia, it will be fine,” I said. “Everything has been quiet.”

“For now.”

“Is there something else we should know?” I asked, and my stomach twisted.

“No, I just…I want that thing destroyed. As long as it exists, it’s like a part of my past I can’t let go. I need to put it behind me—Bloodfang, Jasper…”

That name hit me the wrong way, and I jerked my head in a nod. “Right. Well, we understood you were a bit emotional and ill at the time, so that’s why—”

“Emotional?”

“You know what I mean.”

“I don’t think I do.” Her hazel-gold eyes locked on me. “Something else, Rett?”

“What?” I asked.

“There’s something else you’re not telling me, Rett.”

“Oh, well, while we’re in Veda, the Coven is going to take a look at that brand.”

If I’d told Laia I’d murdered her entire family and eaten her dog, I don’t think I’d come close to the look of devastation and betrayal in her eyes. She clutched her stomach like she’d received a blow and backed up, shaking her head.

“Laia—”

“I told you that nothing could be done,” she whispered. “I told you to let it go.”

“I can’t,” I said, my head pounding and my thoughts crashing into each other. “Laia, you don’t understand—the Coven is your best hope. They can help.”

“What if I don’t want help?” Laia asked, white to the lips and shaking. “It’s my problem.”

“That means it’s mine,” I said in a low, intense voice.

“No, Rett,” Laia said and turned away. “You don’t get to claim my problems. You shouldn’t even have claimed me.”

“You would’ve preferred jail?” My words came out in a slight snarl.

“I…” Laia dropped her head into her hands. “Of course not. I’m grateful…”

“Sometimes I can’t figure out if you’re more scared of being healed than not,” I snarled, my heart pounding with fear. I wanted her to know how badly I was scared. How badly I wanted her whole and well. “Maybe you saw this as a way out of being a shifter.”

The instant the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them and went to step forward, went to apologize and grab Laia’s hand.

But she was gone.