Gargoyle (Woodland Creek)(13)

My mouth wouldn’t open. Not for the longest moment, it taking everything in me to keep my emotions even. It wasn’t a comfortable situation as everyone’s heads started doing a ping-pong action, glancing back and forth between us, realizing we most definitely knew one another.

Yes, I knew the shifter hunter in your midst.

Eventually, I cleared my throat. Heavily. I was able to speak, my tone quiet, my words measured and slow. “I’m here with Rachel and Jackie. I got sidetracked here, but I’m leaving now.” I finally stepped out from between my empty chair and Mandy, and then gestured to it. “The seat’s free. You can sit there if you want.” He wasn’t going to leave this meeting. I knew that.

His delicately curved red brow lifted. “Sidetracked?”

“Yes.”

“About?”

“I delivered a package recently to an office building. They seemed intrigued by this fact.” They would also probably try to kill me at some point since I was a human who knew about the shifters and wizards. However, for right now, they were still too curious to do it soon.

His blink was slow. “I can understand their interest.”

“Why?” I knew he wouldn’t lie to me.

“Because only certain individuals are invited there.” A head tilt toward the table. “I can’t even get an invite.”

Oh. No humans allowed—a spell.

I blinked.

And no wizards either from the way Isaac had acted to the ‘guest’ there.

I relished the new emotion of ‘understanding,’ not heartache. “After I explained who the woman was who had given me the package, it seemed to appease them. Her name was Hanna Clipton.” These were the most words we had spoken—civilly—in a month.

He lifted a stiff hand, brushing his red hair back from his eyes. “She gives invites.”

My own nod was jerky. “Okay.” I had given him all the intel I had.

We stared at one another, his fa?ade breaking the barest bit as his jaw clenched.

Lips pinching, I mumbled, “I’m leaving.” Clearing my throat, I brushed past Mandy, who had made room for me. Jonathan’s recruit lifted a hand in a gesture for me to pass by him. No way. Fuck that. The man was all types of vicious. I wasn’t letting him anywhere near…my hands clenched when Jonathan instantly stepped in front of his recruit, blocking him, and giving me space to move between him and the table. Stepping forward, I paused, then turned slightly, and lifted my hand toward his face, pointing.

His head instantly jerked back. Away from my touch. He even took a quick step back with that carefully silent expression on his handsome features.

My own jaw clenched at his action, but I pointed gently at his forehead. Not touching him, but needing to say this. “You have a little something on your forehead.” A red laser dot, a clear indication there were actually guards around this room.

His chuckle was dry. Jaded. His eyes narrowed on me the smallest bit before he rubbed at his forehead, pretending he didn’t know what I was talking about. “Did I get it?” Intelligent, he was.

“Probably when you leave, it will go away.” I lowered my hand slowly, my gaze holding his for the longest moment. “I am sorry.” So f*cking sorry.

He inhaled sharply, his gaze on mine, until it jerked over my head to the occupants of the table, scanning over all of them in rapid succession before landing back on mine. He jerked his head to the side, muttering harshly, so much scorn radiating in his quiet words, “Get the hell out of here, Kennedy.”

“All right,” I mumbled softly and slowly tore my gaze away from his. I walked away, my stomach torn in knots. I was betting I would throw up tonight and probably wouldn’t be able to sleep…his side of the bed cold and empty.





I made Jackie and Rachel leave my apartment.

Jonathan had called four hours after seeing him in The Bread Basket.

He wanted to come over.

To talk.

A huge step in the right direction.

I had also warned him when he called that I had a few people following me. They weren’t even trying to be covert. When you see the same individuals five times in one day, it's definitely not a coincidence. The shifters were very interested in me now.

Not to mention my ex-boyfriend was one of the top shifter hunters in town. So, no, our relationship wasn’t easy. Not here in Woodland Creek. It was complicated, but most were. Ours was just on a different level of complication.

Nevertheless, he was coming over. The last time he had been here, it hadn’t been a pretty morning. He had been waiting for me when I had walked in that morning after the ‘incident.’ He had taken one look at my appearance, the bruises on my wrists and my guilty expression, and practically made the roof fall down as he shouted so loudly in furious anger.

He’d had access to drugs. Had dosed himself up with a tranquilizer and slept through the night.

I had not had drugs.

I had hurt him.

He knew it wasn’t my fault…but it still hurt.

Rushing around the room, I shut all the blinds and closed my curtains, then quickly set to making dinner in my tiny kitchen. My place was small, yet respectable, the best I could afford in Woodland Creek. I wouldn’t accept charity from anyone, including Jonathan, so I used the inheritance I had been gifted on my eighteenth birthday from my late grandmother to live on until I decided what I wanted to major in during college. I hadn’t gone yet, and I didn’t plan to. Not until I decided what I wanted to do for a career. I wasn’t an overly huge fan of school even though I had always made great grades, but I knew I would have to make a choice eventually. My play money would run out in the all too near future, even though I only pulled enough cash out every month for rent and utilities, and then my carefree nature would be snared by the reality of needing more spare money than my odd side jobs afforded me now.