Chapter Twelve
Don’t Turn Your Back on a Synn
During the ensuing weeks, when Stefan arrived for work, Synn was always with Cody under the pretense of doing production work. True to his word, Cody insisted she leave with him amid her protests or excuses why she should stay. Stefan aggressively spurned her advances.
That evening, when Stefan arrived for his shift, Synn wasn’t there.
“Hey, where’s your shadow?”
“I cut her loose. Let me shuffle a couple of songs here for a longer play. We need to talk.”
Working at the computer, Cody rearranged the playlist, appearing deep in thought.
Whatever was bothering Cody, Stefan surmised it was bad. He leaned back against the counter, elbows resting against the counter’s top, foot propped against the front of the cabinet. “What’s up?”
Cody turned from the computer, eyes dark and forehead lined with deep creases, the vein at his temple pulsing in time with his heartbeat. “That woman is scary. The look in her eyes when she doesn’t get what she wants is unnatural. I’m telling you.” He ran his hand through his hair and rubbed at the back of his neck. “She’s way too interested in Brandy and you. She tried to wheedle confidential information about you two out of everyone at the station. Son, you two don’t have any connection to her, do you?”
“Nope, never saw her before the morning Russ introduced us. If Brandy knew her, she would have said something.” Stefan shifted against the counter uneasily.
Cody blew out a breath and shook his head. “Watch yourself and Brandy too. That woman is up to no good. I’ve had a word with Russ. She’s can’t be in here after hours anymore. But I don’t think Russ is taking me seriously. She’s got him wrapped around her little finger.”
Stefan cocked a dark brow and studied Cody. “Thanks for the warning. She’s not here now?”
“No, I walked her outside at the beginning of my shift and locked the door after her.” Cody picked up his jacket and walked toward the control room door. “I’ll do another check of the offices and production room before I leave. Have a good night.”
For the first couple of hours of his shift, Stefan paced the control room floor and watched the windows and door. Something wasn’t right, but as the night wore on, he relaxed some.
Using his cell phone, he checked on Brandy, then settled into the rest of his shift, leaving only once. He thought he heard a phone ring but couldn’t locate his cell. Maybe he’d carried it into the office when he’d picked up some paperwork earlier. He’d check after this stop set.
****
As Stefan flipped on the mic, he saw a shadow move out of the corner of his eye. He rushed through the stop set, yanked off his headphones, and started toward the door. She stood outside the glass door to the control room, holding his cell phone up, waving it from side to side in her hand.
Turning the knob, she sauntered in. “Good morning, Stefan,” she purred, continuing toward him until she was standing in front of him, her breasts brushing against his muscular chest. The woman wrapped her arms around his neck in an attempt to bring her lips to his. Cody’s warning reverberated in his brain. He carefully brought his arms up through hers and broke the hold. “Synn, you’re a beautiful woman, but I’m already in a relationship.”
“Pity.” She didn’t back away. Instead, she held his phone and toggled it back and forth in her hand again. “We had a really nice talk earlier. Told her you were too busy to talk to her.” Synn shrugged. “She hung up.”
Lunging at her, he grabbed for the phone. It slipped out of her grasp and clattered to the floor. She drew a bloodied dagger from her coat pocket and threw herself at him, straining for his throat with the weapon. In a blur of motion, he stepped sideways, caught her by the shoulders, and shoved her across the room.
The chair he’d been sitting in moments before crashed against the opposite wall. The papers he’d held in his hand fluttered to the floor. Stefan slammed her viciously against the wall, knocking the dagger to the floor. He stepped on the dagger with his booted foot and forced his forearm against her throat, holding her up against the wall.
“I like the rough stuff, but we probably should wait until you’re off shift,” she cooed seductively, completely unaffected by the situation.
In a split second, his fangs unsheathed and claws pierced his fingertips, raking against the wall as he rasped menacingly, “I’m tired of your games. Whatever you’re offering, I’m not interested in your kind. Get the hell out of here. Leave Brandy and I alone, or you won’t live to regret it. Am I making myself clear?” In his anger and frustration, the fear of his secret being discovered was gone. “Crystal,” she snarled, her lips curling to show sharp, pointed teeth as she struggled to loosen his hold and said sweetly, “Tell Brandy it was nice talking to her.” Before he could crush her windpipe, she disappeared from his hold and the room without a trace.
He briefly considered searching for her but instead snatched up the station phone to call Brandy. There was no answer, and he waited for the beep. “Brandy, don’t answer the door and deadbolt it. Make sure all the windows are locked. We need to talk. I’m leaving now.” He switched the computer to program so it would play all the commercials and songs automatically without his intervention. Russ could fire him for leaving the station unattended, but he had to make sure Brandy was okay. He grabbed his coat just as Russ strode in the door.
Russ stared at the damage inside the control room. “What happened in here?”
Stefan stopped midstride and paused to glance at Russ. “No time to explain.” He pushed past Russ.
Russ grabbed his coat sleeve. “The side door was breached. The alarm company called to say they couldn’t reach anyone here at the station. Did the phone ring?”
“No, not once all night.” Stefan paused. Had Synn cut the phone lines? He jerked free. “Brandy isn’t answering her phone. I gotta get home. I’ll come back later to clear out my locker if necessary. Or have Cody collect my stuff. I’ll contact him to pick it up.” He stopped long enough to look Russ in the eye. “I’m sorry for the way things turned out.”
Stefan sprinted out the station door into the inky darkness and was at the cabin door in seconds, his key in the lock. Before he flung open the door, he felt the fury of her mind. Yet he was unprepared for what greeted him.
Brandy stood in the center of the room, face flushed with fury, her green eyes rimmed red, and coppery feathers sprouted around her face, which began to blur. “Couldn’t wait, could you?” Brandy raised her hand as her talons emerged, blood dripping from her fingertips. She slapped him. The blow aimed at his face caught only his shoulder as he turned away, wincing.
“What in the hell are you talking about?” Surprise, shock, then anger vibrated through him. He stepped back, arms at his sides. “Brandy, you don’t understand. Synn stole…”
“Like hell I don’t.” She swung again with such fury that she lost her balance and fell against him.
As he reached for her, his claws broke though the calluses on his fingertips. He grabbed for her shoulders to shake some sense into her, but she twisted, again falling forward into his claws, slicing her shoulder. A dark-red stain seeped through her white shirt as the sweet scent of her blood filled the air.
He hadn’t hunted recently, and the scent of her warm, fragrant blood drove his desire for blood out of control. Pinning her against the wood paneling, his hand fisted her hair. He yanked her head back and bared her neck as his fangs pricked the smooth skin over her jugular.
“Stefan, stop!” she screamed, her panicked voice finally cutting through the red haze of bloodlust in his brain.
He released her. She slid to the floor, then scrambled to her feet, backing away from him. They looked at each other, eyes wide in shock and disbelief as both returned to their human forms, appalled at the damage they’d inflicted on each other.
Stefan moved toward her. She held up her hand, her entire body shaking, face pale as she pointed toward the door. “Get out.”
The last thing he’d wanted to do was hurt her. But he had. She was wrong about him, and she’d paid the price. He sprinted to his truck and yanked open the door. By the time he paused to take one last look, the door was already closed. He shoved the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life. He stomped on the gas pedal, and the truck fishtailed down the road, throwing gravel in its wake.
****
Brandy stood in the cabin, watching the blood seep through her shirt. How had things gone so terribly wrong so fast? She wanted to sob, scream, and curse. She wanted to blame Stefan but couldn’t, knowing that it wasn’t his fault any more than it was hers. She was so angry—with him and herself for letting someone else fulfill his needs when it should have been her. No, she wasn’t thinking clearly.
Peeling off her shirt, she walked into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and stepped inside, letting the warm water wash over her. It stung as she watched the crimson water flow down the drain. The gashes were not serious, not like the damage she’d caused to their relationship.
As her anger subsided, a devastating realization dawned. In her fit of temper, she’d never given him a chance to explain what really happened. She remembered him saying Synn stole…stole what? Oh God, what have I done?
The grim reality sank in. They were two magical creatures with inherently dangerous abilities and tempers to match. Yet, at the peak of his bloodlust, he’d stopped because he’d heard her pleas. He cared deeply for her. Would he ever admit it to himself? She didn’t know and, right now, didn’t care. What she did know was that they both needed time and space to heal the emotional wounds as well as the physical.