Chapter Twelve
Years of B&E in the name of warden jobs had made them well acquainted with this routine. They were headed up the stairs from the basement levels, most likely to a second-floor studio two stories up, where they would probably find their targets.
He was right. The occupied studio was on the second floor. When the three of them neared the top-floor room, they could at last hear the sound of people talking. One woman – one man.
Will recognized Helena’s voice immediately. He’d only seen a water bowl scry of her so far, but that small glimpse had been enough to imprint her permanently on his mind. It wouldn’t be until later that he realized he’d never heard her voice before, and hence had no idea how he “recognized” it. But Cain apparently recognized the sound as well; Will could feel the ancient vampire go still inside his head, listening more intently than ever.
“Plans for the night?” the man asked.
Will and Liam rounded the corner to find themselves facing a large, open room with mirrors paneling one wall, and hardwood for the flooring. Two people were inside, a man and a woman, resting on a pile of mats. They wore workout gear, and the woman had a zip-up hoodie over hers for extra warmth. The man was someone they’d never seen before, tall and somewhat scrawny, big nose and ears, but piercing eyes and an easy grace. He was busy helping the woman unwrap the boxing tape from her hands and wrists.
The woman was Helena.
Will felt his throat tighten at the sight of her. She looked absolutely stunning, even in gym wear and a ponytail. Beside him, Liam went as still as Cain had when he’d heard her. Will glanced at his cousin, not at all surprised to find that Liam’s expression was one of hard focus and determination. But Will could see that it was softened at its edges by emotion he was trying very hard not to show.
“Plans, huh…” she said slowly, “well, I got this car from the junkyard.” She smiled a beautiful smile. “Thinking of fixing it up.”
The man grinned and shook his head, still looking down at the bandages he was unwrapping. “Traditionally or Helena-style?”
“What do you think?” she asked with a laugh. God, what a beautiful laugh. “I’m not one for wasting precious time.”
The man chuckled. “What kind of car?”
“It’s a ’67 Shelby,” said Helena. “Like Eleanor.”
Will felt a buzzing in his head. The man with Helena stopped unwrapping her hands, and together, he and Liam both whistled low. Will shook off the strange sensation of familiarity that had been hitting him over and over again, and looked over at his cousin.
Liam straightened at once, realizing what he’d done. He’d whistled, of all things, and if Darryl’s spell wasn’t fool-proof, the couple in the room would hear them. He glanced at Will nervously, and Will shook his head. Idiot.
“Don’t worry lads,” said Darryl with plenty of volume. “Like I said, she can’t hear you.”
Liam exhaled in relief. “And like I said,” he added, turning back to watch her some more. “She’s got great taste in cars.”
Darryl stepped around them and moved further into the room, gesturing for the boys to follow him. “She has great taste in a lot of things,” he told the cousins.
“I’m frankly surprised you found one of those at the junkyard,” said the man who was wrapping her knuckles.
“Well to be fair, it’s not in the best shape,” admitted Helena. She stood up, and her male friend stood with her. “And I only found most of it.”
“I haven’t finished with those yet,” he said, nodding at her hands.
“It’s okay,” she told him. “I got the rest of it now. You go on ahead and go home already. You’ve been here since early this morning. I’ll lock up.” She moved away from him, crossing the studio in long strides to head straight toward the Slate cousins. Will felt that tightness in his throat again, and he swallowed hard against it. His muscles were going rigid, preparing for a fight. To his left, Liam began to move out, like a shark circling something heading its way.
But the man behind Helena stood still, and when she turned her back on him, he lifted his chin. Will watched his nostrils flare for a moment. He was scenting the air? “You’re injured.”
Helena closed her eyes and dropped her hands. The bandages around them hung all the way to the floor. Now that he was close enough, Will could see there was blood on the tape. He turned his gaze on her hands and found cuts and bruises across her knuckles. That wasn’t anything new, though. Wardens were often bruised up like that. Their job was not easy on the body. Wardens were hired by powerful people in the factions of the different realms to track down rogues and trouble makers. Not to throw birthday parties.
“It’ll heal,” she said, her voice tight. “And I hate that about you, Ethan. Goddamn werewolves.”
Will and Liam looked at each other, brows raised.
Darryl laughed at their expressions. He’d moved, and Will hadn’t even noticed it. Now the warlock sat across the room on a window seat, his legs crossed at the ankles, his stance utterly relaxed.
“You hate that I can smell your blood?” asked Ethan. “Or that I can tell there’s more of it escaping your body than what you’ve got on the scrapes across your knuckles?”
Helena’s head lowered now too. Her glorious black hair framed her face in thick, shining layers, hiding her luminous maroon eyes. “Crap,” she whispered. But Will heard it all the same, and he was sure Liam had too.
Ethan made his way toward Helena, and Will and Liam found themselves moving closer too. Will’s alarms were going off. Helena was hurt.
“Where’s the wound?” Ethan asked. It was something they all wanted to know.
Helena spun to face him, and Ethan stopped in his tracks. “It’s none of your business.”
“Like hell,” said Ethan, Liam, and Will as one. But of course, Helena would only hear Ethan. Liam and Will exchanged glances.
“Where are you hurt, Helena?” Will asked, really only talking to himself as he looked her up and down.
Liam moved in closer to her, and his eyes skated over her body from head to toe. Finally, they settled on her abdomen, and there they narrowed into green slits. “There. It’s on her left side. I can tell by how she’s standing.”
Ethan began moving again, one boot in front of the other, and Helena stepped back.
Ethan stopped. “Really?”
Helena held up her hand. “Look, I just want to go home, Ethan. I don’t want to argue with you about how I’m putting myself in danger, about how I help other people and never help myself, or about how unfair life is in general. I want a beer, I want Dire Straits, and I want to work on my car.” She lowered her hand. “There’s no better medicine. Got it?”
Ethan cocked his head to one side, studying her silently and carefully. Will recognized that kind of look. Liam used it on him all the time. It was keen and just a touch distrustful, but filled with love and concern.
“Okay,” Ethan finally said, but slowly. “I’ll be checking on you later though, whether you want me to or not. And keep your damn phone on. If I call, fucking answer it. Deal?”
Helena nodded, smiling gratefully. “Deal.”
“Now’s your chance Liam,” Darryl said. But Liam was already moving in, using Ethan’s momentum as he walked past Helena as a disguise for the brush-up sensation Helena experienced when Liam put his arm around her and slipped the coin into her hoodie pocket.
She turned as Ethan reached the door, clearly no wiser to the added metal in her clothing. Liam stepped back, grinning proudly, empty hands up to show his cousin and Darryl his success.
“Be careful out there, Ethan,” she said softly.
Ethan the werewolf stopped at the door and looked up. He blinked once in quick confusion, but it was fleeting when Helena’s bright, kind smile disarmed him. “Always,” he said simply, then left the building. Liam and Will listened to his footsteps hit the bottom floor and push through the double metal doors.
Alone with Helena now, all eyes were on her, and the entire room held its collective breath as she unzipped her hoodie and lifted the shirt beneath it to reveal a tight stomach, ripped abdomen, and a large bloodied medical patch. Gingerly, she pulled the top corner of it back, slowly uncovering four deep gashes that Will instantly recognized.
“Werewolf,” said Will. “No wonder she didn’t want him to know. He’d have felt responsible.”
“Oh, baby girl,” said Liam softly, shaking his head at the sight of the wound and how it marred Helena’s otherwise perfect flesh. “That is all kinds of wrong.”
Inside Will’s spinning mind, Cain lit on fire. It was like an instant migraine and the beginning of a panic attack, and for just a split second, Will was so uncomfortable, he wanted to be unconscious. He also desperately wanted to touch Helena, to help her dress the wound. He wanted to give her a pain killer and a beer. He wanted to call Fort to have him heal it. He wanted to curl her up on the couch, wrap her in a blanket, pull her into him, and lay her head on his shoulder.
He wanted to do anything and everything but stay right the hell where he was, pretend he was in control, and keep his distance from Helena, but that was what he had to do. So that was what he did.
And when he looked over at Liam, he could see he wasn’t the only one struggling. Liam didn’t have Cain in his head, but his desire was just as palpable. His jaw was clenched rock hard tight again, and the veins in his arms stood out over his clenched muscles. The older Slate cousin looked up at Darryl. “Get us out of here, Darryl. Before I do something I’m gonna regret.”
Darryl was still watching Helena, his red eyes as transfixed by her blood as much as they were by her in general, when he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The sound echoed loudly and he, Liam, and Will were instantly back in the safe house.