Nikki smiled as she watched the door close behind her brother. Now maybe she’d get somewhere with that gorgeous bartender. When she turned back to Aaron, the smile froze on her face. Oh shit! Now what? He was glowering at her fiercely. “Aaron?”
She saw the muscles in his jaw clench. “I don’t need you to fight my battles for me.”
Nikki winced at his outburst. Thanks, Seth, she thought bitterly. Now what am I gonna do? Now they’re both mad at me. His glare intensified when she didn’t reply right away. I got it! she thought, then smiled hugely. “I’m sorry if you misunderstood my intentions. I was just thinking that you beating my little brother to a bloody pulp would be a little counterproductive…not that I’d blame you. He was being an ass.” Nikki sat back down at the table and looked up at him. “I’m not trying to make excuses for him—he’s a grown man and responsible for his own actions—but considering what we’ve been through in the last five years, he tends to be a little hot headed and overzealous. And has a great talent for rubbing the people the wrong way.” Aaron grunted. “I won’t say he’s harmless, but….” You’re babbling, she berated herself, then threw out her hands and shrugged. “Believe me, I was saving his butt, not yours.” She waved her hand toward the empty chair across from her. “Now, if you would please sit down so we can finish our earlier conversation?”
Aaron reluctantly sat down. “He may be younger than you are, but you can hardly call him little.”
Nikki’s smile grew. “He’s all I have, and he will always be my little brother.”
Aaron reached across the table and placed his large hand over her small one. “What happened to you five years ago?”
The smile slowly faded from her features at his intense gaze. Clearing her throat, she replied softly, “Uh, that’s a little personal, don’t you think, Aaron?”
He cocked his head and smiled. “So, you’re the only one who can ask personal questions around here? Besides, you brought it up.”
She winced as she weighed her options; she really needed information, but didn’t want to talk about her past. “It’s a very bad memory, and I don’t really like to talk about it.”
“I’m a very good listener,” he said softly. “Come on, tell me.”
Her whole body shuddered as she brought herself back to the past. “That was the night we lost everything to those werewolves,” she said softly, a single tear trailing down her cheek. Aaron reached up and brushed the tear away with his finger. She smiled self-consciously, then looked away. “That was a long time ago.”
He squeezed her hand. She turned her head to look back into his eyes. “Tell me about it.”
She took a deep, quivering breath. “I don’t know why I feel compelled to talk to you.” He smiled and she continued. “I guess to tell the story, I have to tell you a little bit about my family.” She looked away from him again and looked all around her to make sure no one else was listening. She looked back into his eyes and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Seth and I come from a long line of witches,” she said, and waited for his reaction.
He inclined his head. “You said witches?” he whispered calmly. It was obvious from his expression that he didn’t expect that confession.
She nodded. “We can trace our family back to the Salem witch trials,” she whispered seriously.
“Witches, as in you have magical powers?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t possess any physical powers. I can, however, mix potions and cast spells.” She shifted uneasily in her chair and looked nervously around the room again. “I only told you this because it’s a pertinent part of the story.”
Aaron nodded. “Go on.”
She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. “The coven was holding a secret meeting that night. Seth woke me up to tell me about it.” She opened her eyes and met his gaze again. “We decided to spy on the coven.” Her hand trembled under his and he squeezed it reassuringly. “I had made a potion of invisibility and grabbed it off my dresser.”
“Why would you have made an invisibility potion?”
She felt the heat rise to her cheeks and looked away. “I thought I was in love with a guy, and I thought I might have to sneak away.” She swallowed hard. “You see, my parents didn’t like him very much.”
“Oh,” he said softly.
She looked back into his eyes. “Seth and I were crouched down at the top of the staircase, spying on the coven, when the werewolves came crashing into our house.” She closed her eyes and tears trailed down her cheeks. “There was nothing we could do to help. It was so awful, there was so much blood.…” She sobbed softly. “I used the invisibility potion on Seth and myself so that they wouldn’t find us too.” Her shoulders shook with the grief.
Aaron stood up and moved his chair next to hers. He sat back down, put his arm around her, and pulled her to him. She sobbed as he held her. “What happened to this boyfriend of yours?”
She sniffed. “I never found out for sure what happened to Paul. I never saw him again. I assumed that he perished with the rest of our small town. The werewolves wiped out our entire community. Seth and I were the only survivors that I know of.” When he squeezed her shoulders, she let her head rest on his shoulder; it felt right in his arms, as if she belonged there.
“I’m sorry you both had to go through that.” He laid his head down on top of hers and rocked her gently. “I guess I can excuse your little brother for the huge chip on his shoulder. You both have been through a lot.”
When Nikki realized what she was doing, she sat up abruptly and pushed away from Aaron. It had been all too easy to cry on his shoulder. She felt self-conscious and exposed, but from the second she pushed away from him she wanted to go back into his arms. Looking away, she swallowed hard in confusion. “I…I…I’m sorry,” she stammered. “I shouldn’t have cried on your shoulder like that.”
“I don’t mind.”
She raised her eyes to meet his. “But I do mind,” she said forcefully. “I can’t afford to get distracted now. We are so close.”
He lifted an eyebrow and frowned. “What are you so close to?”
She jumped up from the chair, threw out her hands, and shook her fists forcefully. “Those blasted werewolves,” she said in frustration. She paced back and forth. “Seth and I have been hunting that pack ever since the attack. The string of attacks have led us here.” She pointed to the floor. “To New Mexico.”