Holy. Shit.
Kinsey's legs wouldn't stop shaking, even when her whole body screamed for her to get away from the Howling Moon as fast as possible.
"Kins. . . I'm sorry." Sabrina was right behind her, glancing over her shoulder every two seconds to make sure they weren't being followed. Kinsey didn't blame her. That man had said they could go, but his tone had suggested he wasn't done with her.
Her stomach betrayed her and did a little flip flop, remembering the deep husky tone of his voice when he got close to her, the warmth of his fingers when he touched her, even for just a moment. Her hand was still warm where he had touched her.
She pulled her phone out, staring at the contact page he had made. Damon. She couldn't think of a more attractive name for such a sexy yet imposing man.
Shifter. She needed to remind herself that, despite his human appearance, he was most definitely not. He was just as dangerous as the shifter who threatened to rip her spine out.
They approached Sabrina's little Toyota Corolla; the headlights flashed twice when she unlocked it.
"I hope you got enough for your next book," Kinsey muttered, cursing her wobbly voice. She slipped into the passenger seat and took a moment to breathe, now that they were in the safety of the car. No one had followed them, didn't even blink in their direction. They were safe.
For now.
Sabrina looked over to her, forlorn. "I think I like the idea of being with a shifter than actually being around them." She shuddered before starting the car. "And to think I thought Mister Hottie was coming in with the Superman landing to sweep you off your feet and protect you from that asshole."
"Damon."
"Huh?"
"Mister Hottie's name is Damon." Kinsey felt like she was stuck in a dream. She knew it was her body's way of processing tonight's events without absolutely losing her mind, and, for some odd reason, focusing on Damon's contact page helped.
Sabrina shook her head scornfully, as if he was in front of them, crowding them again. "Those guys are crazy. I hate to be the one to say it, but we should tell Carissa what happened."
Kinsey squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her fists into tight balls in her lap. Things were already complicated with her family. Carissa's invitation to join the Corporation had been unexpected, especially after the huge fight she had with her parents, but it was a blessing. She needed the job. No one else had accepted her resume thus far and her savings account was rapidly depleting between car payments and helping Sabrina with bills.
She didn't want to jeopardize the offer, or even make Carissa regret the offer, by telling her she had gotten into trouble with some shifters.
"Victor hired a security detail for her when they started dating," Kinsey reasoned. "She's safe." That was all that mattered, really.
Sabrina stopped at a redlight then swung her head in her direction, giving Kinsey all kinds of sass she didn't need right now. "Aaaaaand what about you?"
She scowled. "What about me? You heard them. They were far more interested in Carissa than me." Everyone always was.
"What are you going to do when Damon calls, hmm? He didn't have to add the 'or else.'"
Kinsey bit back a laugh. "As if he would actually call me. I bet he forgot about me the moment we left the bar."
Sabrina pinned a glower on her.
She relented with a sigh. "Okay, so even if he somehow doesn't forget me and calls, what can he do to me if I don't pick up? How's he going to find me? He knows absolutely nothing about me."
"He seems to know Carissa," Sabrina pressed. "If he knows her, he might know something about you."
"Everybody knows Carissa. She's always on the News, but there's nothing about me on the Internet. I don't have any social media. It's impossible for him to find me."
Sabrina huffed, not the least bit impressed with her argument--but only because she couldn't think of a rebuttal. "You know where my baseball bat is if you need it."
Kinsey did indeed, but she wasn't planning on carrying a bat around with her all the time.
"Why do you think they reacted like that?" she wondered. She was glad they had dropped the subject of her safety, but other questions had since formed in her mind. "What do they want with my sister?"
Sabrina drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, lips pursed, clearly with an opinion but was choosing to keep quiet.
"What is it?"
They turned off the main road for the University District. There were mostly apartment buildings with only one townhouse complex in the district. The university butted up against the river that divided the west and east sides of Wensworth, sitting on the east bank, but the district stretched to the north and south bridges. Since the area consisted of mostly apartment buildings, the city filled the spaces in between with cute parks. During the summer time, one could frequently find students studying on the benches or grass, soaking up as much of the sun as possible.
Sabrina relented with a sigh. "They're probably into her. You and Carissa won the genetic lottery. You're both genius and gorgeous. The only difference? Money. She could buy a boat the size of Manhattan if she wanted to."
Kinsey pinched her chin in thought. "But they seemed angry when I said her name."
She shrugged as she pulled into her parking stall. "If I've learned one thing about the paranormal world, the angrier they seem, the more turned on they are."
Kinsey wasn't an expert on men and certainly not on shifters, but that didn't seem accurate. When she stepped out of the car and opened her mouth to question her friend's sources, Sabrina held up her hand, silencing her.
"It's just a fact known amongst paranormal authors."
Kinsey still doubted how these facts came to be known, but at this point, she was just glad to be home. All she wanted to do was snuggle up on the couch and sleep the night away. She needed to be at her best for tomorrow.
Sabrina unlocked the main entry door with her fob and held it open for Kinsey. This building was one of the newer ones in the district, but it clung to the whole industrial charm of the city. Kinsey could only dream of affording a place like this in the same area. She swore whenever a building went up, all the units sold within the day. Sabrina had to fight tooth and nail for her apartment, which, unfortunately given the circumstances, was only a one bedroom. Kinsey had been sleeping on the couch for the past month. It wasn't an uncomfortable couch, but Kinsey longed for a night she could spend in a bed.
Sabrina flicked the lights on in her fourth floor apartment and relaxed when the door shut. "I'm going to have a shower. Will you be okay?"
Kinsey nodded, already heading for the couch. Sabrina looked at her, meeting her gaze, and checking twice to make sure she was truly fine before turning for the bathroom. Kinsey stripped out of her long sleeved shirt and leggings and settled into flannel bottoms and a t-shirt one size too big for her. Her head barely hit the pillow when she fell asleep.
Sabrina was still asleep when Kinsey woke up to get ready for her brunch with Carissa.
She tiptoed around the apartment, plucking her clothes out of her suitcase and dipping into the bathroom for a much needed shower. She ran out of time to make coffee and pack a small snack for later, before she had to run out the door, locking it behind her with Sabrina's spare key. Kinsey's Mazda 6 was waiting for her in Visitor Parking. She started it up and headed for the southern bridge. Luckily, traffic was on her side. No one was on the street this early on a Saturday morning. Unfortunately, that gave her nerves the opportunity to twist at her stomach.
She shouldn't be nervous. It was brunch with her sister. They were going over her contract for the Bane Corporation. This was her first step toward the climb for her career. The same step Carissa took six years ago. She'd started small, just as Kinsey was doing today, and quickly worked her way up the ladder.
Today was the day the world found out Carissa wasn't the only shining star in the family.
Her confidence quickly shriveled when she pulled up to Carissa and Victor's house--mansion, really. The fence was laced with security. They stopped her by the main gate at the end of the driveway, checked her ID--even though she had been here several times before--then let her through with a less than impressed grunt.
Good start.
She parked beside a black Mercedes and made her way to the front door. The butler opened the door for her before she could reach for it. He welcomed her inside, ushering her to the formal dining room, not giving her a chance to digest the spectacular, albeit a bit over-the-top design of their house. After being cramped up in a small one bedroom with her best friend, she'd gotten used to making do with a small space. Everything about this house was big, open, and modern. They'd chosen cool colours as the base and used rich blues and greens to give the place some life.
A throaty laugh caught her attention on the glass staircase. It was Victor making his way towards her. He adjusted the gold cufflinks on his dapper suit, looking too well dressed for a Saturday morning. His platinum blonde hair shimmered in the sun coming through the skylights, and his dark brown eyes seemed to dazzle when he smiled at her. The magazines weren't exaggerating when they said he was the hottest man in the city. He had the chiseled jaw of a Greek statue and an overall air of power and grace about him. To think, he was basically her brother-in-law. It was a surreal thought.
"Good morning, Kinsey."
She grinned at him. "Hi, Victor."
He stopped right in front of her, a good couple inches taller than her, and leaned forward enough to kiss the top of her head.
"Carissa will be down in a minute for you. We had a late morning." The smutty grin on his face made her blush.
"Where are you going dressed like that?" She almost laughed--but nobody laughed at Victor Bane.
His eyes hardened, as if he could read her mind, and dared her to mock him. "I have a meeting."
"At nine in the morning?"
He caught a wisp of hair in her face between two fingers and brushed them along her cheek. His eyes seemed to smoulder when he looked at her. "One day this city will be mine, Kinsey. I'll do whatever it takes, even if it means I have to attend Saturday morning meetings. Someday you'll understand what kind of sacrifices you have to make to take what's yours."
His hand lingered a moment longer then it fell to his side. Kinsey could only stare at him. He spoke like the city wasn't already putty in his hands. What was there left to take?
"Kinsey!" Carissa called from the top of the stairs. She rushed down the steps, quickly putting her earrings on as she went. She wore a flowing, knee-length dress that brought out the red in her otherwise brown hair. The colour of her eyeshadow made the green in her hazel eyes stand out more. Even with just her sister visiting she looked her best.
She wrapped her arms around her, giving her little sister a big squeeze then she turned to her fiancé, tapping his chest. "You better get going or you'll be late."
"You always know what's best." He kissed her. Deeply. It went on longer than Kinsey thought appropriate; she averted her gaze, finding a spec on the ceiling to take her mind off the envy ripping through her. What she would give to have someone kiss her like that. But, maybe not in front of company.
Laughing breathlessly, Carissa pulled away and shooed him out the door. She turned to Kinsey with red cheeks. "Sorry. He's a passionate man; it's so easy to get caught up in it." She led her down the hallway for the formal dining room, arm swung over her shoulder. "You should really introduce me to your boyfriend one of these days, so I don't have to feel bad about making out with my husband."
Kinsey peered over to her sister. It had been over a month since they'd seen each other, and beforehand it was only briefly because she was so busy with work, but she didn't think they were that out of touch. "I don't have a boyfriend. I haven't had one since high school."
Carissa scowled curiously at her. "Are you sure? I swear you mentioned a boy last time we chatted."
Ah. Had it really been that long since they had talked about boys?
Kinsey sighed, feeling lame. "That was at the beginning of the semester. You're thinking about Chris, my Chem partner."
"Yes! Him! What happened with him?"
They reached the dining room. It was already set with silverware and plates. There were three large dishes lain out for them to fill their plates.
Kinsey was the first to start picking at the food. She hadn't really eaten since yesterday lunchtime, which had only just occurred to her and her grumpy stomach. The bear shifter had interrupted her before she had the chance to have her appetizers last night.
"Nothing happened with him." Nothing ever happened with the men she had a crush on. She was too much of a coward to make a move.
Carissa watched her for a moment, trying to read her tone, then she gave up and shrugged. "Probably just as well. You'll be too busy for a man." She set a thick Manila envelope on the table beside Kinsey's plate and tapped it twice. "Your contract. This is going to be so great for you, Kins. Obviously, I can't show favoritism, so this is just a typical contract, but if you do this one right, it'll show a very promising future for you at the Corporation."
Kinsey couldn't wait to see what Carissa had lined up for her. When she had told her she had a job for her, she hadn't told her what it was, only that it was perfect for her. Kinsey had had her doubts until she kept reading.
"You want me to do an ecological survey of Grimrock Woods?"
Suddenly, her cellphone rang. Thinking nothing of it, Kinsey collected it from her purse and nearly pressed the green button out of habit--but then she saw the name.
Damon.
Her heart thudded painfully in her chest. He hadn't waited twenty-four hours before attempting to call her. Even more shocking--he had called her. She didn't know what to make of it. Was he actually interested in her or was he only using her to get to her sister, like others before him had?
Carissa touched her forearm. "Kins?"
She jumped out of her skin and dropped her phone in her lap. By the time she fumbled it into her hands again, the call timed out.
Relief flooded through her.
Carissa's eyebrows popped into her hairline. "What was that all about?"
Sheepishly, Kinsey tucked the phone back into her purse. "N-nothing."
She regarded her for a moment, then shrugged, deciding not to press further.
Thank God. Kinsey wasn't sure she could lie convincingly to her sister.
"Good." Carissa grinned enough for both of them. "We want to know more about the animals in Grimrock Woods. Hunting routes, species, numbers. . . it's all in the contract. Do you think you can do that?"
"Of course." It was what she was trained to do. "Can I ask why you want to know?"
"For future projects." Carissa's tone ended the conversation there.
Whatever these projects were, they were big. Kinsey wasn't privy to them at the moment, but she hoped she made her sister proud with this project.
"Anyway," Carissa moved forward, "enough talk about business. Let's hurry up and eat. I need your help with the wedding."
The wedding of the decade. It's been the talk of the town, all over the Internet, actually. Celebrities and politicians wanted to be a part of it. Some even sent incentives for an invitation.
Kinsey didn't care for the fluff that seemed to revolve around weddings. She was just happy for her sister, and relieved she wasn't a part of the wedding party--even if she had been a little disappointed when Carissa hadn't asked her. At least she got to wear what she wanted to the wedding.
They were going over table settings when Kinsey's cellphone rang again. She leapt for her phone, saw it was Damon again, and hit the red button.
Her nerves spiked again. He wasn't supposed to call again. He was supposed to give up and leave her alone. Forget about her. What if he kept trying? Could she ignore his calls forever? Would he try to find a way to hunt her down?
He can't, she reminded herself sternly. It's impossible for him to find you. The only person who knows where you live is Sabrina.
Her parents certainly never bothered to ask where she was living after they kicked her out.
"You're a popular girl today," Carissa teased.
Kinsey swallowed and forced a smile. "It's just a scam call. Nothing to worry about."
"Glad to hear it. Now, about the place setting. . . Are you planning on bringing a plus one?"
"Um, no." Typically, she'd bring Sabrina, but given how well the last time she and her family were in the same room together went, it would be better for everyone if she didn't bring her along.
Carissa made a note in her binder. They went on to other wedding arrangements, booking appointments to meet with caterers and the florist.
Damon didn't call her again.