Well, those days were over. He’d explain that to her later. For now, he had to figure this out. “Why did you become a shrink?”
“I wanted to help people.” She wiped snow off her jeans. “My dad was a cop, and he said I didn’t have what it took.” She hunched her shoulders inward. “I guess I kind of wanted to prove him wrong. Plus, I have a knack for figuring people out.”
She had a knack because she was empathic. So she was driving herself so hard just to prove herself? That wouldn’t do. However, he liked that she wanted to help people. Smart, spirited, and sweet. That was her. He glanced at her, his hands easy on the steering wheel.
“What?” she asked.
“You’re very likable,” he said, taking a corner.
She blinked. Color tinged her cheeks. Her lips pursed. “Thank you.”
Yeah. The woman knew how to take a compliment. He liked that, too. Her scent of spices and berries wrapped around him, providing comfort with a jolt of energy. The idea that somebody wanted to harm her tightened his muscles. He’d never been a nice guy, and a battle was a battle, but he’d make the asshole who’d poisoned her bleed before dying.
He pulled into the back lot of the tiny restaurant. “You ever been here?”
She craned her neck to check out the innocuous brick building. “No.”
“Best pizza in the world.” He jumped out of the car and crossed to assist her. “Careful. The lot is icy.”
She nodded and allowed him to lead her through the back door. The smells of garlic, cheese, and pretty much heaven hit them both. She breathed in. “Wow.”
“Yeah.” He grinned. “You’ll love it.” Taking her hand, he led her through the hallways to a small private dining area and gave a nod to Theo before surveying the room. Ah, shit. Theo had brought Ginny.
* * * *
Ronni’s stomach rumbled like she hadn’t eaten in months, which she pretty much hadn’t. If the pizza was half as good as it smelled, she’d be in heaven in about ten minutes.
Olivia rushed for her, enveloping her in a hug complete with a happy hop. “You look even better than this morning. Alive. So well.” Joy filled Olly’s laugh.
Ronni hugged her back, tears pricking her eyes. They were alive and would be for possibly forever. The two of them. She leaned back, smiling at the wonderful sparkles in Olly’s eyes. “You look even happier.”
“I am.” Olly pulled her toward an empty seat. “You know Chalton and Theo.” She nodded toward a stunning blonde sitting between the men across the table. “This is Ginny.”
“Hi.” Ronni smiled.
Ginny smiled back, but the greeting didn’t meet her eyes. Was she nervous? Ronni tuned in her senses and nearly lost her breath. Tension. It was all around her. She glanced at Jared, who took the seat next to her without meeting her gaze. Interesting.
Ginny smoothed back her long hair. “Theo has been taking such good care of me.” She patted his hand on the table. “I don’t know what I would’ve done.” Her voice was soft and a little timid.
“You were fine,” Theo said shortly, taking a drink of what looked like beer.
“Oh, no.” Ginny shook her head, her eyes widening. “We had an attack at the hotel.”
Jared stiffened next to Ronni. “An attack?” He focused on Theo.
Theo rubbed a hand through his shaggy hair. “No. It was probably just a car backfiring.”
The redheaded waitress entered, her notepad ready to take orders. During the hustle, Olivia leaned over to whisper. “Ginny’s a witch. The witch from Jared’s past.”
Ronni stiffened. Wind whirled through her, and it took a moment for her to pin down the emotions. She was jealous? Why? She’d just met Jared. Of course, her skin held the heat from his, and her body still tingled from him taking her up against the wall. “Well, she is beautiful,” Ronni whispered.
Olivia rolled her eyes. “If you like that look.”
That look? Long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, flawless skin? Yeah. Who’d like that look? The woman sat directly across from them and was no doubt even more beautiful closer up.
Chalton gave them a look. Oh, yeah. Super vampire hearing. Well, who cared? Ronni and Olivia weren’t changing their lives just because they’d joined up with the supernatural. “Where’s her mate?” Ronni asked.
“Dead. She took some virus and came running for Jared,” Olivia said, taking a sip of water from a thick plastic glass.
“Oh.” A rock smashed into Ronni’s stomach, heavy and painful. She reached for her own glass, and her thigh brushed Jared’s hard one. Desire poured through her. One little touch and she wanted to get him naked again. But he’d done her an unbelievable favor in saving her life. If he wanted his freedom now, she had no choice but to give it to him. That had been the plan, right?
Ginny fluttered her hands together. “I just don’t know what to order. What do you recommend, Jared?” From across the table, she gave a helpless shrug.
Ronni frowned. “Pizza?”
Oliva coughed next to her.
Jared nodded. “Definitely pizza.” He leaned toward Ronni. “What kind do you like?”
“Loaded,” she said, trying to appear nonchalant when his breath brushed her ear. Her nipples peaked beneath her sweater, and she hunched forward.
“Excellent,” Jared said, his voice calm and soothing. “The fact that your appetite is back has to be a good sign.”
Ginny sighed. “How nice to be able to gain weight. No matter what I eat, I stay petite.”
“How sad,” Olivia said sweetly.
Ronni kicked her sideways under the table. “Not me.” Did Jared like the helpless and tiny type? She frowned. How irritating.
“Good. Eat up and regain those curves I saw in your pictures,” he said, as if reading her mind. The waitress brought breadsticks and pitchers of beer, and he plopped two sticks on her bread plate. “I didn’t ask. Do you like beer?”
“Sure,” Ronnie said, nodding when he poured her a glass.
“Not me.” Ginny pouted out her red lips. “Do they have wine?”
For some reason, she kept asking questions of Jared. Ronni shrugged off the desire to punch the blonde in the nose. Was he still in love with her? How the hell had he been in love with her? If that was his type, she’d give him his freedom the second she tracked down that mysterious virus.
Jared nodded. “The wine list is on the back of the menu.”
Ginny’s eyelashes fluttered. She made some sort of odd noise. “What do you recommend, Jared?”
Theo took her attention and drew a menu up to her face.
Oliva leaned close to whisper, “Did she just simper? I’ve never seen a simper before. I think that was a fucking simper.”
Ronni bit her lip, trying not to laugh.
Jared turned and patted her on the back, nearly knocking her into the table. “You okay?”
“Yes,” she gasped, reaching for her water.
He eyed her, his gaze dark. “You sure? Maybe you should still be resting for a while. It might take time to get better. Perhaps this was a bad idea.” He moved to stand.
She grabbed his hard thigh and pressed down. “I’m fine. Really. Starving.”
He glanced down at her hand, and hunger flared in his eyes. Not for pizza. He looked like he could eat her whole, and right then and there.
She swallowed and started to move way. His palm flattened over hers, he sat back down, and he held her in place. Heat from his thigh warmed her palm, and then he clenched his muscle.
Her breath caught.
Her jeans became too tight. As if the dinner wasn’t uncomfortable enough, now her skin was sensitized and needy. “This is all just too weird,” she muttered.
“Tell me about it,” Jared said from the corner of his mouth.
She coughed out another laugh.
“Eat,” Jared said, pushing her bread plate toward her. “I want you healthy.”
Why? So he could push her up against the wall again? Or so he could get a virus a
nd then go on to mate the pale beauty staring at them? That twit couldn’t make him happy. Ronni bit into the breadstick, and the taste made her hum in pleasure.
Jared cleared his throat. “What do we know, Theo?”
Theo kicked back in his chair, his shaggy hair around his collar. “Saul Libscombe has popped back into circulation. He’s in South Africa running a refuge right now.”
“Is he a threat?” Chalton asked, sliding his arm over Olivia’s shoulder. “I did kill his brother the other day.”
“In self-defense,” Theo murmured.
Chalton nodded. “Yeah, but do you think he’ll come after us?”
“Not at the moment,” Theo said. “He could be preparing for an attack, but it doesn’t look like it to me.”
“He’s always been a decent guy,” Jared said thoughtfully. “Let’s keep eyes on him.”
“Done,” Theo said, reaching for his beer.
“What about the poison in Ronni’s blood?” Jared asked.
Theo shook his head. “Our labs haven’t identified it yet, but they will. The more interesting question is how was she poisoned?”
“I don’t know,” Ronni said. “Could be a number of ways.” She’d gone over it so many times in her mind, and no answer came clear.
“It had to be somebody close to you,” Chalton said quietly.
“Not necessarily,” she said. “I’ve thought about it. Anybody could’ve spiked a drink at the club or even at work. And some poisons are deadly enough that one dose is all it takes to attack a heart.”
Jared nodded. “True. We’ll get you underground until we figure it out.”
Ronni reared up. “Not a chance in hell.” As her temper stirred, she caught a small smile crossing Ginny’s face from across the table.
Jared leaned in. “We’ll discuss it later, Mate.”
Chapter 7
Jared ignored the daggers shooting from Theo’s eyes as they escorted the women into the parking lot. He had his hands full with getting Veronica healthy, and Theo could just cover Ginny until she headed home to her family. She was smart and obedient and easy to protect.
Which was the exact opposite of Veronica. Oh, she was intelligent, but she truly didn’t realize how fragile she was. It was his job to teach her that, no matter how much he admired her spunk.
Ginny cast him a longing glance, and he tried to give her a reassuring smile.
At the moment, he had to focus. He’d made a commitment to Veronica, and he wasn’t the type of guy to put his mate in danger, convenience or not.
Plus, he wasn’t the youthful man he’d been centuries ago when he’d fallen for Ginny. Odd that he hadn’t realized that fact until meeting Veronica. His emotions jumbled, and he cut through them with hard logic. Veronica was his responsibility, period. A niggling voice in the back of his head laughed at him. At his cold logic.
Wind whipped around them, and he pivoted to shield her the best he could. Lovely color had filled her face after eating the delicious pizza, and her movements were smooth and graceful instead of the cautious and shaky she’d shown before the mating.
She was on the mend.
Every once in a while, out of the blue, it hit him how close the world had come to losing her forever. To having her light and energy disappear. He growled.
She glanced up, snow on her long eyelashes. “You okay?”
“Fine.” He scouted the quiet street alongside the parking lot. Whoever had poisoned her would beg for a quick death.
The air changed just enough to give him pause. His body tightened instinctively. “Chalton—” he started, just as his brother pivoted toward the street.
Tires screeched. A car careened into view, the weak moonlight glinting off the barrel of an assault rifle. Pattering instantly filled the night. Jared leaped toward Veronica, flattening her on the ice and covering her with his body.
Her breath whooshed against his throat.
The car slid to a stop, and the driver half leaned out the window, taking aim. A mask covered his face.
Shit. Jared rolled Veronica around the nearest SUV, taking cover. Ice slid down his shirt. “Status?” he bellowed.
“Not hit,” Theo snapped from behind a blue truck.
“Help, Jared,” Ginny cried out, her voice high and frightened.
“She’s covered,” Theo yelled before Jared could reply.
Veronica shoved against him, and he crouched to his knees. Bullets pinged off metal, and he ducked his head, keeping her between him and the car taking the assault. “Chalton?”
“We ducked back inside,” Chalton returned, slowly opening the back door, hunching low.
Good. Olivia must be secured inside.
A bullet ripped into Chalton’s shoulder, and he dropped, blood bursting from his shoulder. “That asshole dies tonight.”
Jared leaped for his brother and yanked him down behind the car. “How bad?”
“Bad enough to piss me off.” Chalton clamped a hand over the wound, fury sizzling along his hard face. “We’re pinned down.”
“There might be more coming,” Jared muttered, ducking again when more bullets pinged over his head. “I think a full frontal assault would be best. You stay here and cover Veronica.”
She grabbed his arm, her eyes widening. “What in the world? You’re not rushing a guy with a gun.”
But he wanted the fucker’s neck in his hands. Jared sighed. “Fine.” He grabbed a gun from his boot. “Then I’ll just shoot him.”
“Good plan,” Veronica sputtered, reaching down and removing a small caliber pistol from along her calf.
Jared’s mouth dropped open. “You’re packing?” he growled.
She rolled her eyes. “Somebody wants me dead. Of course I’m packing.”
He couldn’t help it. In the middle of a firefight, in the midst of a temper, he smiled. God, she was perfect. “Just keep your currently human head down, woman. A bullet could still kill you.”
“Understood,” she said, angling toward the front of the vehicle to aim her weapon.
She apparently didn’t understand shit. His grin widened, even as he jerked her back with his fingers curled into her waistband.
She slid toward him on her knees, her back to him, unable to fight him on the ice. “What are you doing?”
“Keeping you safe.” He pressed a hard kiss to the back of her head. “Let me.”
Did she just growl?
Another car slid into sight.
“Second gunman,” Chalton muttered, tugging a gun out from beneath his jacket.
Jared angled up and fired several times over the hood. The first driver ducked back behind his door, while the other slid out the far side of his vehicle to shoot over his own hood.
“Livy, stay down,” Chalton yelled as the back door of the building started to open.
It instantly closed.
Bullets came from Theo’s direction, as did a woman’s high-pitched scream.
“It’s okay, Ginny,” Jared hissed. The woman needed to stay quiet, damn it. She’d just given Theo’s location away.
“Can’t she throw fire or something?” Veronica muttered, crouching as more bullets cascaded above their heads.
All witches threw fire. It was too bad Ginny didn’t know how to fight. “Right now, she just needs to stop screaming so we can get rid of these guys. I need one of them alive,” he said.
Chalton nodded. “Affirmative.” He reared up and fired a volley of shots toward the attackers.
A human male screamed in pain.
Good enough. Jared launched himself over the hood of the car, zigzagging on the ice and firing toward the closest car.
The other car zoomed off with the smell of blood in its wake.
Bullets whizzed by his head, and he increased his speed. The rancid smell of fear hit him right before the asshole shooting at him dove into his car and slammed the accelerator down. The car fishtailed, zooming down the icy street.
Jared turned to make sure everyone was all right
. Bullet holes lined the brick building behind them.
A quick survey showed everyone getting to their feet, nobody bleeding.
Fury swept through him to turn colder than the ice beneath his feet. “Stay here.” Turning, he barreled into the street, turning and launching into a run after the speeding car. It was icy, and the driver was sliding up ahead.
Oh, fucker. You’re gonna die.
* * * *
Ronni gasped as Jared dodged bullets and the gunman drove off. Her hands shook, and her body ached from being pummeled to the ground. She took a deep breath. Okay. They were all safe.
Then Jared lowered his chin and ran full bore after the fleeing vehicle.
“Jared,” she yelled, shoving around the damaged car and running after him.
“Ronni, wait—” Chalton reached to grab her, his fingers scraping along her arm.
She lifted her gun and ran after Jared, her feet sliding on the ice. Her boots skidded across the asphalt, and her arms windmilled to regain her balance. She turned, her breath panting white into the freezing air.
Several yards ahead, Jared reached the Buick and grabbed the trunk, using the leverage to flip himself up on the roof.
What the holy hell was he doing? “Jared, damn it!” Careful not to fall, she tried to find traction along the side of the road to keep moving forward. A sound behind her caught her attention, and she partially turned to see Chalton on her heels, blood flowing from his chest.
“He’s crazy,” Ronni bellowed, turning again for the road.
Jared crouched on the roof of the speeding vehicle, his body stiffening as he lifted his arm back to apparently punch through the metal.
The driver hit the brakes.
Ronni yelled again as the car turned into a wild spin. Jared grabbed the windshield wipers, and his legs flew out from the car. The vehicle crashed into an abandoned brick building, throwing him across the road.
He bounced three times, leaving huge divots in the ice and asphalt.
“Jared,” she breathed, reaching him and sliding on her knees. “Oh, God. Are you okay?” She leaned in and grabbed his face. “Jared?”