Red Blooded
Page 78
Rourke shot me a pointed look as he stood, wrapping the cloth around his waist and tying the ends.
I shook the cloth out before I stood, rising behind it. Then I fashioned it into a toga, looping the ends in a bulky mess over my shoulder. Thank goodness it was thin enough to tie. Once I was done, I shook out my hair and readjusted myself, smoothing the front, trying to find some grace in this awkward situation. “Again,” I said as I stepped forward. “We truly appreciate the help… and the linen.”
I glanced up to find the waiter’s eyes fastened on me, his mouth slightly ajar.
Rourke scowled, coming up behind me, wrapping one arm around my waist as he nudged me forward. “We’ve got it from here. Thanks.”
Almost like a spell had been broken, the boy shook his head. “Um, yeah, no problem.”
As we started to walk away, Rourke whispered in my ear, “One more look at you like that and he was going to find himself taking an impromptu swim in the ocean. Facedown.”
“Don’t forget, you let that very same boy see me with all my bits and pieces hanging out, so you can’t possibly be angry with him now.” We found the small path by the cart and followed it.
“The kid wasn’t looking at any of your parts, he was looking into your eyes.” There was more possessiveness in his voice than I’d expected, especially over a human waiter. “I watched him fall in love with you in that very instant.”
“Shut up.” I laughed. “You can’t fall in love in one glance.”
“Wanna bet?”
29
The ferry was nothing more than a very expensive speedboat meant for shuttling guests to and from the main island, which was located less than three miles away. The captain had merely risen an eyebrow as we’d boarded and said nothing.
Explaining to the front desk that we had somehow misplaced our room key and “couldn’t remember” our villa number took more energy than I had once we arrived. I left it to Rourke and went to find a courtesy phone.
Ignoring the passing looks from the other hotel guests, I folded myself into one of the nearby couches in the lobby, pressing the phone against my ear as I dialed. “Marcy?” I asked as soon as the collect call was accepted. “Is that you?” I was so relieved to hear her voice I almost wept.
“Who else would it be?” She had answered with her usual sarcasm and I wanted to kiss her on the lips.
“I guess I didn’t expect you to be at work,” I replied lamely.
“Why wouldn’t I be at work?” she said. “It’s nine o’clock on a Wednesday morning, of course I’m here.” Because Marcy was in such a good mood, and she was acting like it was just another normal day, she clearly had no idea what was going on with the witches. Before I could answer, she added, “Are you calling me direct from the Underworld? Or is this caller ID correct and you’re actually calling from a place called Rum Cay?”
We were in fact on the tiny Bahamian island of Rum Cay. The island name had been scrawled on the outside of the resort, which had been helpful. I’d been relieved we weren’t farther out of the United States. “We are in the Bahamas, but how we got here is a long story. There are far more pressing things we need to discuss at the moment,” I said.
“Like the fact you’re alive,” she snarked. “When you went through that circle unexpectedly, that man of yours nearly decapitated us all with one swipe of his meaty paw. It was touch and go there for three solid minutes. I hope he found you, or there’s one pissed-off cat roaming around in Hell right now killing things.”
“He’s with me.” I glanced over to see both receptionists batting their eyelashes at him. It was hard to look away from his bare chest, so I could hardly blame them, and because only I knew what lay underneath the tablecloth, I let it go. I planted my eyes firmly on the table beside me. Whatever yarn he’d spun, we’d be lucky if they bought it. There was no need for jealousy, even though my wolf was emitting a low, continuous growl. “Marcy, I’m going to need you to wire money to this resort pronto. You’re also going to have to call the front desk back on behalf of your ‘clients’ and bitch and moan about the service, and blame their lack of check-in records on some kind of computer glitch.”
“Got it,” she answered. I heard her scratching notes on paper. “How are you getting off said island with no passports or ID? Need me to book you a private plane?”
“Can you do that?” I’d never needed a private anything before.
“Of course. If you throw enough money at anything, no one asks any questions. But the funds will have to come out of Pack moneys, since you are currently stone-cold broke.”
“Fine,” I grumbled. “Get in touch with Nick then. He has access to the Safe House and he’ll give you the bank numbers you need.”
“Um.” She hesitated. “I can’t really do that right now.”
I sat up straighter, detecting the cadence of her voice shift. “Why not?”
“He’s sort of gone… along with the rest of your Pack.”
“Marcy,” I said, wrapping my fingers around the edge of the table, trying not to break anything. “Gone where? What’s going on?”
“You’ve been gone kind of a long time,” she said. “Things have been… happening.”
“How long?”
“Ninety-six days.”
Ninety-six days. Shit. “Where are they?”
“The last I heard from James, a day ago, they were circling a nonexistent town not found on any map, deep in the Everglades. It seems the horrible man-eating wolf predators were hurting humans or something. They’re trying to contain the damage before everyone is found out. All hands on deck.”
“Why are you still at home?” I couldn’t believe she’d willingly leave her new man’s side. A mated pair didn’t go very far without each other, especially when danger was involved, and now I knew firsthand why.
“He made me swear an oath, that big, fat hunk of a potbellied weasel.” Then she swore, which was highly unusual for Marcy. “And I promised I’d stay home—that is—until you got home. And you can bet I’m counting Rum Cay as home. So now I’m free to find him and you better believe I’m going to.”
“Erm, there’s something else you need to know before you go,” I said quietly, cupping my hand over the receiver as a couple walked by, the woman eying my getup with interest. “Have you been in contact with Tally since I left?”
I shook the cloth out before I stood, rising behind it. Then I fashioned it into a toga, looping the ends in a bulky mess over my shoulder. Thank goodness it was thin enough to tie. Once I was done, I shook out my hair and readjusted myself, smoothing the front, trying to find some grace in this awkward situation. “Again,” I said as I stepped forward. “We truly appreciate the help… and the linen.”
I glanced up to find the waiter’s eyes fastened on me, his mouth slightly ajar.
Rourke scowled, coming up behind me, wrapping one arm around my waist as he nudged me forward. “We’ve got it from here. Thanks.”
Almost like a spell had been broken, the boy shook his head. “Um, yeah, no problem.”
As we started to walk away, Rourke whispered in my ear, “One more look at you like that and he was going to find himself taking an impromptu swim in the ocean. Facedown.”
“Don’t forget, you let that very same boy see me with all my bits and pieces hanging out, so you can’t possibly be angry with him now.” We found the small path by the cart and followed it.
“The kid wasn’t looking at any of your parts, he was looking into your eyes.” There was more possessiveness in his voice than I’d expected, especially over a human waiter. “I watched him fall in love with you in that very instant.”
“Shut up.” I laughed. “You can’t fall in love in one glance.”
“Wanna bet?”
29
The ferry was nothing more than a very expensive speedboat meant for shuttling guests to and from the main island, which was located less than three miles away. The captain had merely risen an eyebrow as we’d boarded and said nothing.
Explaining to the front desk that we had somehow misplaced our room key and “couldn’t remember” our villa number took more energy than I had once we arrived. I left it to Rourke and went to find a courtesy phone.
Ignoring the passing looks from the other hotel guests, I folded myself into one of the nearby couches in the lobby, pressing the phone against my ear as I dialed. “Marcy?” I asked as soon as the collect call was accepted. “Is that you?” I was so relieved to hear her voice I almost wept.
“Who else would it be?” She had answered with her usual sarcasm and I wanted to kiss her on the lips.
“I guess I didn’t expect you to be at work,” I replied lamely.
“Why wouldn’t I be at work?” she said. “It’s nine o’clock on a Wednesday morning, of course I’m here.” Because Marcy was in such a good mood, and she was acting like it was just another normal day, she clearly had no idea what was going on with the witches. Before I could answer, she added, “Are you calling me direct from the Underworld? Or is this caller ID correct and you’re actually calling from a place called Rum Cay?”
We were in fact on the tiny Bahamian island of Rum Cay. The island name had been scrawled on the outside of the resort, which had been helpful. I’d been relieved we weren’t farther out of the United States. “We are in the Bahamas, but how we got here is a long story. There are far more pressing things we need to discuss at the moment,” I said.
“Like the fact you’re alive,” she snarked. “When you went through that circle unexpectedly, that man of yours nearly decapitated us all with one swipe of his meaty paw. It was touch and go there for three solid minutes. I hope he found you, or there’s one pissed-off cat roaming around in Hell right now killing things.”
“He’s with me.” I glanced over to see both receptionists batting their eyelashes at him. It was hard to look away from his bare chest, so I could hardly blame them, and because only I knew what lay underneath the tablecloth, I let it go. I planted my eyes firmly on the table beside me. Whatever yarn he’d spun, we’d be lucky if they bought it. There was no need for jealousy, even though my wolf was emitting a low, continuous growl. “Marcy, I’m going to need you to wire money to this resort pronto. You’re also going to have to call the front desk back on behalf of your ‘clients’ and bitch and moan about the service, and blame their lack of check-in records on some kind of computer glitch.”
“Got it,” she answered. I heard her scratching notes on paper. “How are you getting off said island with no passports or ID? Need me to book you a private plane?”
“Can you do that?” I’d never needed a private anything before.
“Of course. If you throw enough money at anything, no one asks any questions. But the funds will have to come out of Pack moneys, since you are currently stone-cold broke.”
“Fine,” I grumbled. “Get in touch with Nick then. He has access to the Safe House and he’ll give you the bank numbers you need.”
“Um.” She hesitated. “I can’t really do that right now.”
I sat up straighter, detecting the cadence of her voice shift. “Why not?”
“He’s sort of gone… along with the rest of your Pack.”
“Marcy,” I said, wrapping my fingers around the edge of the table, trying not to break anything. “Gone where? What’s going on?”
“You’ve been gone kind of a long time,” she said. “Things have been… happening.”
“How long?”
“Ninety-six days.”
Ninety-six days. Shit. “Where are they?”
“The last I heard from James, a day ago, they were circling a nonexistent town not found on any map, deep in the Everglades. It seems the horrible man-eating wolf predators were hurting humans or something. They’re trying to contain the damage before everyone is found out. All hands on deck.”
“Why are you still at home?” I couldn’t believe she’d willingly leave her new man’s side. A mated pair didn’t go very far without each other, especially when danger was involved, and now I knew firsthand why.
“He made me swear an oath, that big, fat hunk of a potbellied weasel.” Then she swore, which was highly unusual for Marcy. “And I promised I’d stay home—that is—until you got home. And you can bet I’m counting Rum Cay as home. So now I’m free to find him and you better believe I’m going to.”
“Erm, there’s something else you need to know before you go,” I said quietly, cupping my hand over the receiver as a couple walked by, the woman eying my getup with interest. “Have you been in contact with Tally since I left?”
