Beauty's Beast(31)

“But what if I’m wrong?”

“What if you’re right?” He kissed her knuckles.

“We need you. We need all of us in order to win,” she whispered.

“You don’t have to convince me.” Alon motioned his head toward the closed door.

Samantha exhaled in a short blast, retrieved her hand from Alon and knocked.

Inside came the sound of her brother’s footsteps padded by the carpet. A moment later the door opened and Blake filled the opening. Dressed in a sky-blue shirt with the top three buttons unfastened, black dress slacks and bare feet, he looked exactly the same but very different from the last time she saw him. He stood straighter, looked at her directly and carried himself with a new confidence. His smile seemed easy instead of tight. He opened his arms and she stepped into the warm familiarity of his embrace, breathing in the scent of home.

Blake lifted her off her feet as he always did, swinging her back and forth before returning her to the carpet. The awkwardness began upon his release. He stepped back and glanced past her. His smile vanished as he turned his attention to Alon.

Samantha stood between the two men as they sized each other up.

“Blake Proud,” Samantha said formally, “this is Alon Garza, son of Bess Suncatcher and Cesar Garza.”

Alon extended his hand. Samantha held her breath and waited. Blake glanced down the exterior hall as if making certain that no one saw them and then took Alon’s offered hand. She had never expected Blake to accept the gesture, let alone reciprocate. Samantha expelled her breath.

The two performed a stiff handshake that established that they each had crushing grips and a high tolerance for pain.

Blake motioned them in. “Mom said you had company.”

He stepped aside and then shut and locked the door behind them. Clearly he did not want to be seen with them.

“You have met my sister?” asked Alon.

Blake flushed and Alon’s eyes narrowed. Samantha swallowed her dread. Blake hadn’t thrown Aldara out, had he?

“She’s here.”

Samantha’s shoulders sagged in relief until she recalled the flush of her brother’s cheeks and thought to wonder what exactly had happened between Blake and his attractive female bodyguard.

Alon’s stormy expression showed the same thing had occurred to him.

“She’s in here,” Blake said and led the way.

Samantha trailed him down the hall, wishing she could run in the opposite direction. She was a good runner. But today she would stand and fight.

“We are alone, except for Aldara,” said Blake.

Samantha stepped into the suite, which included a full kitchen, all creamy marble and stainless steel, and a conference table large enough for all the members of the Southeastern Council to conduct business in private. Beyond sat a sleek, stylish living area with a sofa and recliners clustered about a square coffee table. The artwork consisted of an enormous television hanging on the wall parallel to the sofa. To the right and left were doors that Samantha fervently hoped led to separate bedrooms.

Every single light in the place was blazing. Samantha’s eyes narrowed. That was a trick to hide auras. She spun on Blake, about to ask him what he was concealing, when she realized she also had something to hide. Calling Blake out would reveal her, as well. That made her hesitate, suspicion blooming with the anxiety. What would Blake do if he saw her aura blending with Alon’s?

Aldara appeared a moment later but not from smoke. Instead she emerged from the bedroom wearing a white terry cloth robe bearing the hotel’s insignia. Samantha’s skin prickled a warning of impending doom.

His sister was absolutely stunning. Fine blond hair slid like silk over her shoulders. She looked tiny in the bulky robe that ended at her knees to reveal shapely calves and pale bare feet. Her eyes were grayer than Alon’s, but the siblings shared the same wide, sensual mouth and straight nose. Unlike Alon, Aldara had a heart-shaped face and pointed chin that gave her a dainty, feminine beauty. Deceptive, thought Samantha, and easy to underestimate.

Her choice of attire was either unfortunate or calculated. Samantha did not know her well enough to understand which, so she glanced to Alon to find he had tucked his chin as if preparing to attack.

Aldara flashed a look to Blake. Had he ever seen her fighting form, or was she still hiding it from him?

Alon greeted his sister with a kiss on both cheeks.

“Have you seen any ghosts?” he asked his twin.

“Four,” she answered.

Blake ran a hand through his glossy brown hair. He and Aldara exchanged a look.

“In the Sonora Desert,” Blake said. “Aldara had been trailing me as smoke. I saw her but didn’t know what she was until the attack.”

Aldara inched closer to Blake and then hesitated, coming to a stop midway between her brother and Alon.

“I was going to send them for judgment when she changed form and blasted them.” Blake turned to Alon. “That’s some badass power, extinguishing souls.”

Samantha wondered again at the responsibility of destroying the immortal essence and did not succeed in suppressing a shiver. Blake’s acknowledgement of that power, however, might serve to help her argument.

“You did well,” said Alon. If he felt any remorse, he did not show it. “We need the Seers. Without them we must kill all possessed humans.”

Aldara moved to stand beside Blake, who gave her a tender smile.

“There have been no others since Scottsdale,” she said.

Blake offered a recliner to Samantha then motioned Aldara to the couch. She settled beneath the bright side lamp. Alon took the chair opposite Samantha, beyond the coffee table, flanking his sister. His aura was slightly visible, a gray haze hanging about his head. Blake sat on the couch under the matching lamp, one seat cushion away from Aldara.

The silence grew uncomfortable as each sat stiffly, leaning slightly forward as if anxious to be somewhere else.

Blake spoke first, his voice seeming to boom into the void. “I want to thank you for protecting my sister, Alon, and for bringing her safely to her people.”

Her people? They never had people except each other. Was he talking about the Niyanoka? Those whom she had never met or even seen during her entire childhood?

Alon nodded his acknowledgment to this and glanced to Samantha, deferring to her. It was her brother after all.

She cleared her throat and her first word still came out as a squeak. “Blake, the Thunderbirds brought me to Alon.”

Her brother’s eyes narrowed and flicked to Alon.

Sensing a fight brewing, she hurried on. “He brought me to his family. All of his siblings have been raised to respect the Balance and human life. After meeting them it is my opinion that we need them. And you know yourself that they can defend against ghosts.”

“I don’t approve of killing souls. Even evil ones deserve judgment and to serve their time in the Circle,” said Blake. “Some might one day be forgiven and reach the Spirit World.”

“They’ve avoided the call of the Ghost Road. Refused the natural order. They deserve no mercy,” countered Alon.

“They can also force them to the Ghost Road,” said Samantha. Blake made no reply to this so she drew another breath and dived back in. “They are smart, protective, dedicated to preserving the Balance, and they are excellent fighters.”

Blake cast her an incredulous look. “Yes,” he hissed. “I remember. I learned this on the day they nearly killed us all.”

That made her squirm. Of course he remembered the attack by Nagi’s Ghost Children as well as she did.

“Yet you allow Aldara to protect you.”

“I wouldn’t call it that. She did not seek my permission, nor will she follow my direction. She is ever under her own authority.”

“I follow my brother’s command. Not yours,” said Aldara.

When it suited her, thought Samantha, recalling Alon complaining that Aldara tended to do as she pleased. Samantha considered his sister. Why did it please her to stay with Blake?

Blake did not notice Samantha’s distraction as he continued. “She gave me no say. She wouldn’t leave when I ordered her to. She might be the first person I’ve ever met who is more stubborn than you.”

Samantha met the challenge in his gaze. “Alon sent her to protect you.”

“It was a dangerous thing to do. If she had been seen...” His words fell off and he laced his fingers together as he rested both elbows on his thighs. He worried one thumb with the other for a moment and then glanced back at his sister. “She’s got to go.”

Aldara glared at Blake, her eyes now shining a brilliant mint-green. Samantha became more suspicious of just what was between them.

Blake would not look at her. “It took some doing, but I’ve succeeded with the Southeastern Council, Samantha. Mom is waiting for us in New York.” He glared at Aldara. “Just us.”

She felt a squeezing of dread in her gut. “Us?”