Tori Read online

She waved her hand dismissively at him. “Sorry for the wasted trip, but I’m not going anywhere.”

  He stepped forward to lean over the deck wall, old paint peeling off with his movements. Sourly, she watched the chips fall and miss him completely. Figures. She’d be wearing those suckers if their positions were reversed. It had happened yesterday when she’d leaned over in that same spot. “Is this the best you could find?” he asked, exasperation mixed with mockery in his voice. “This place is a rent-by-the-hour flophouse.”

  Acid leeched from her own voice. “You should know.”

  He stiffened and turned on her. “No, I wouldn’t.” He glared at her. “A little trust would have been nice.”

  She didn’t think it was possible, but his tone gave her the chills and his words made her feel a little ashamed. Maybe he had changed. Then again, maybe not. “Ah, well, trust is a little hard to come by. You could ask your family for help.” She crossed her arms over her chest and added in a deadly voice, “Oh wait. You already did that.”

  Devon stared above her head, a muscle in his long lean jaw twitching. “I’m sorry. I know Grandfather is a bit heavy-handed.”

  “Ya think?”

  “He’s protective.”

  She laughed and didn’t bother answering. Devon was a poor relative to the wealthy Chancellors—poor being a relative term, of course. He still had more money than she’d ever had. The Chancellors, powerful, male-dominated, and beyond wealthy, had been living and operating in this world as if they owned it.

  In fact, she wouldn’t be surprised to learn they’d somehow staked such a claim.

  “Look, he didn’t realize how important you are to me.”

  Present tense. Too bad. He’d had his chance. She’d forgotten what the original argument had been about. And what difference did it make? If Devon had been serious about her, he’d have come after her a long time ago. A year ago. Not now.

  Airily, she said, “Whatever. So why are you here now?”

  “To get you.”

  Now she was getting mad. She dropped her feet to the floor and stood up, standing right in front of him. “Obviously not. If you were here for me, then you’d have come months ago.”

  She saw the wince before he hid it.

  “I…we need you.”

  Her heart, held in suspension for that whisper of hope that he’d come for her because he couldn’t live without her, fell. “Of course. It’s a job, I suppose.” She motioned to the world beyond the deck. “I have a job. And a life, thank you, and I’m allowed to be choosy about any clients I decide to take on.”

  “This—” he waved his arm at the cramped deck and even smaller apartment “—is not living. You are hiding. How long do you think you can keep this up?”

  “As long as I want. As long as I need to.”

  She dropped back into her chair and closed her eyes. “It’s been a shitty day. Go away.”

  “I know all about your shitty day. How do you think I found you?”

  Well, doesn’t that figure? All she’d wanted was a little cash. The Chancellors did security in a big way. They’d probably seen the damn bank feed within an hour of the robbery.

  “Why did you pick this hellhole?”

  That did warrant a look around. She closed her eyes again and said, “It’s not that bad.” She took a deep breath of the clean air and added, “There is a lot to recommend it here.”

  “There’s no resurgent energy here. You can’t recharge easily. Why? Why did you run here?”

  And she’d had enough. She said simply, “None of your business.”

  There was a long silence, so long she finally opened her eyes to see Devon staring at her, his arms crossed over his chest. “I’m not leaving without you.”

  “And that’s where you’re wrong.” She glared at him. “I want you to leave my apartment. And I want you to leave now.” Inside, she said, Leave, now.

  A muscle pulsed in his stiff jaw. He hesitated.

  She hopped back up again and stood toe to toe with him. She forced the word out of her throat. “Now.”

  His gaze hardened even as his shoulders relaxed. “This isn’t over.” And he walked out of her apartment. She followed behind him and threw the bolt home, locking him out.

  Too bad she couldn’t lock him out of her heart.

  *

  Devon opened his phone and called Grandfather. “She’s refusing to return.”

  “Doesn’t matter what she wants. We need her. Pay her more.”

  “I didn’t offer her any money. She’s too proud.”

  “Ha. That was your first mistake. Go back and offer her money. She’s destitute. Look at the way she’s living.”

  “If she’s living that way, it’s for a reason.”

  “Yeah, because she doesn’t know how to make a living in the normal world. She’s an energy worker. They have to work energy. Nothing else in their life will go right unless she follows her destiny.”

  Devon groaned under his breath. He’d been listening to this destiny stuff for decades. “She doesn’t want to come back with me. I told you to send someone else.”

  “Well, she’s your fiancée. So it’s only right it should be you.” Grandfather’s voice sharpened. “Now listen good. You get her back here by tomorrow, and I don’t care how. We need her here. People’s lives are depending on it.”

  And Grandfather hung up. A voice next to him gave him pause. “I heard most of that from over here.”

  Of course he did. Devon glared at his next-youngest brother. “I don’t know why we even use phones. The old man could just yell, and everyone between here and the other side of the planet would know what he wanted.”

  With a laugh, Karl sauntered closer. “So, what are you going to say to her?”

  “I have no idea. She’s not likely to open the door a second time.”

  That earned him a wicked grin. “Since when did locked doors keep us out?”

  He studied his brother’s cheeky face. “Are you suggesting we kidnap her?”

  Karl stared at the trees around them. “With her abilities, you know there’s not going to be much we can do about forcing her. Look at the bank scenario. Look at the crew you took to her place. Hell, they’re in the vehicle right now, shaking her auto-suggestion off. She’s potent, bro. And without her cooperation, we’re going to have to knock her out and kidnap her.”

  He hated to consider the idea but had to admit, it had been sitting just out of his consciousness.

  “She’ll hate me.”

  “No,” his brother corrected. “She’ll understand. Eventually.”

  And that would be too long. He’d waited a year to come after her. Twelve long months to get it into her head that she really didn’t want to be alone. That he really was her choice of a mate. Twelve long months of waiting. A whole damn year of hoping that she’d come to him.

  Instead, she’d chosen to live like this rather than be around him. He wondered if the hurt would ever go away.

  As much as he admired her guts and determination, he’d been able to see how her energy was less than it had been. Either she couldn’t recharge as easily as she could before, or the town was draining her faster than she’d expected. And she had no partner to help with the recharging.

  And in Tori’s case, she needed to recharge more than most.

  So how had she survived for so long?

  And how the hell was he going to get her home in time to help the people who were in trouble? The clock was ticking…

  “Why is she the only one? Surely Grandfather could have found another one with her talents?”

  “She’s the one with the affinity to the woods, remember? Not even Genesis can do it alone. She said Tori was needed. Did you explain the problem to her?”

  “No.” He stared at his brother helplessly. “I didn’t know how. After she said no way, I got angry and then…” He shrugged. “I guess I said the wrong thing, because the next thing I know, she ordered me to get the hell out of her apartment.”
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  “And you left?” Karl threw up his hands and gave a hard laugh. “Just like that?”

  “And I left just like that.”

  Karl stared, then his lips twitched. “You realize you let your guard down and she auto-suggested you, right?”

  Devon stared at his brother. “No, she wouldn’t. She couldn’t.” At least she never had before. As he thought back on his lack of resistance, his not even thinking to resist, he closed his eyes and groaned. “Damn it. She so did.”

  Chapter 4

  Tori shouldn’t have used her abilities on Devon. She felt guilty about that. Well, okay, only a teeny bit guilty. He did deserve it. What was she supposed to do, just pack up her stuff and leave with him? Because he said so? Those days were long gone.

  The air was cool as she came out of her two-minute shower. The apartment was tiny, but after the day’s events, her energy was drained. Damn, she was tired. At least she had a place of her own. And that was so much better than the alternative. Leaving her window open a few inches for Jessie, who she hadn’t seen since Devon left, she crawled into bed.

  Her mind teemed with the things Devon had said. And all that he hadn’t. Something about people needing her help. She let out a skeptical snort. So not likely. She generally got people into trouble—not out of it.

  She rolled over and fell asleep.

  Much later, Tori woke. Something was off. Lying quietly in her bed, she listened to the sounds rustling outside in the forest. Many people avoided the woods. Unlike Tori, they didn’t have an affinity to the woodlands. She did. And she could recharge almost anywhere, as long as she had Jessie.

  If she were to become separated from Jessie for a long time period, she would have to find another solution. One option would be to go to the woodlands. Or back home, where the energies of the meridians crossing the planet soothed her energy instead of aggravating it. Some people like her managed to spend their entire lives in towns like the one she was currently in. In that case, their systems adapted.

  In Tori’s case, she’d never adapted.

  But she’d needed to get the hell away, and this latest town had seemed like a good option. With Jessie, she’d been fine. The others didn’t know about Jessie, or, for some like Devon, hadn’t wanted to know.

  The thing was, his grandfather had seen Jessie but wouldn’t back up Tori’s claims. Then again, none of it mattered.

  She and Jessie had been together for a long time. She’d be damned if some grumpy old man would have the power to ruin that.

  She sighed and punched her pillow. She hated waking in the night. She needed sleep. Especially with the recharging issues.

  A whisper of something wrong crossed her consciousness.

  Someone…something…was in the apartment.

  “Jessie?” she called out in the barest of whispers. But there was no sign of him.

  She pushed the blankets aside and went to stand when a strong hand clapped a cloth over her mouth and a strange energy bolt hit her sleep center, knocking her out.

  The last thing she remembered was Jessie’s worried chirp.

  Then she heard nothing more.

  *

  “Damn it. I should have stayed in the room with her.”

  “You think she’d have preferred waking up with you there?” Karl laughed. “I don’t think so.”

  “Maybe not, but she’d be over her anger by now.” He stared around the dining room in the main house of his grandfather’s huge estate. Big enough for the gatherings of the whole family, including all of the extended family. Right now though, there were only a few of them here.

  He needed Tori’s help.

  They all did.

  But she wasn’t likely to want anything to do with him at this stage. He twisted his mug around moodily.

  “When are you going to let her out of her room?”

  He glanced over toward the stairs leading to the room where Tori had been locked in and frowned. “I was hoping she’d sleep longer. She doesn’t look well.”

  “She’s fighting the energy of that damn town.” Karl shook his head. “Why would she go there?” He stood and walked to the sideboard, where he filled a plate with eggs and potatoes. “She could have stayed here and enjoyed the wealth.”

  Devon frowned and narrowed his eyebrows, glaring at Karl’s back.

  At the awkward silence, Karl swung around. “Shit. That was cold. I am so sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” Devon stood and moved toward the hallway. “You’re right. She made her choice.”

  As he reached the stairway, he realized he still had no idea why she’d made the choice she did.

  Why she’d walked out and stomped on his heart to get free.

  Chapter 5

  She let her eyes drift close. Weakness invaded her body, as though she hadn’t recharged. That brought her eyes open again. Why wasn’t she recharging?

  Then she realized she had, in a way, overcharged, but slowly…very slowly. “Jessie?”

  Gentle chattering near her head reassured her that her friend was here with her. “What’s going on?”

  He chittered and blinked on and off. She frowned. Normally if they were alone, Jessie stayed visible. That he was flashing on and off like a neon bulb concerned her. In fact, she was starting to realize something was incredibly wrong.

  As she sat up, the blankets fell down. She was still wearing her camisole and shorts, but the blankets weren’t hers. Nor was the bed. In fact, as she searched the gloomy darkness, she realized that she didn’t recognize the room itself.

  Where the hell was she?

  She cast her mind back. Devon. Had he kidnapped her? He’d been adamant about her returning with him. And it would be so typical of him to ignore her wishes and steal her away in the dark of night.

  Damn. She threw back the blanket and walked to the small adjacent room, grateful to find it was a bathroom. There was a bag on the floor by the small table. She opened it to find her clothes and personal articles. And from the look of the contents, it was all of them.

  She sat back, anger building quickly.

  So he came to ask for her help, and when she was less than delighted to see him, he kidnapped her and stole her away. Had Grandfather told him to not return without her?

  That would have stuck in the old man’s craw. She’d never gotten along with him. Nor he with her.

  That didn’t stop the hurt, fueling her temper into full-blown anger.

  How could Devon do that to her?

  She moved to the door and tried to open it, with no success. She wasn’t surprised. If she’d been kidnapped, there was no way they’d leave the door wide open for her.

  Exhaling loudly, she decided the next best thing to do was shower. After a quick wash, she changed into jeans and a T-shirt from her bag and checked out the window. It wasn’t locked, so she pushed it open and scanned her surroundings. There were trees, bushes, and the gleam of water in the distance. She didn’t recognize the area. Still, she recognized the energy.

  And that wasn’t good. It was morning, so she could be a long way from home.

  At the word home, she gave a broken laugh. She didn’t have a home. Not really. Everything had blown apart when her granny had died. Tori’s personal life had blown up soon after. She’d walked out the next day. She’d thought she’d been building a future with Devon until she realized that dream had been just as unattainable as the other things in life she’d dreamed of having.

  It wasn’t fair.

  But so what? She was all about goals. She’d been making them since forever and doing a fine job of reaching them. Until Devon had derailed her life.

  Now she reassessed. She had her bag and the little she owned. Of course, she had no money, and wouldn’t Mary hate that she didn’t show up to work or pay the money back? Then again, she’d just get it from her incoming paycheck. Now she had to run, again, with no money. Savagely, she closed the zipper and approached the locked door.

  Suddenly, Tori realized that she was in big
trouble. Only, she wasn’t the sticking-around kind to see what that meant.

  *

  Devon approached Tori’s door with caution. Dealing with an energy talent meant one needed to be wary at all times. The fact that she was female and likely angry and spitting like a werecat meant that right now, she would be extremely dangerous.

  And her anger would be directed at him.

  He knocked on her door. “Tori, are you wake?”

  No answer.

  He checked his watch. It was nine in the morning. She should be awake. Chances were she was stewing in anger. He debated unlocking the door and going in and checking on her but took the coward’s way out. “I’ll come back in a bit.”

  As he turned to walk away, he found Grandfather standing at the end of the hallway, glaring at him.

  “Well, you brought her home again. Why the devil isn’t she in the forest helping our people?”

  “She’s not awake yet,” Devon offered.

  His grandfather snorted. “That girl always could sleep a good day away.” He turned on his heel, sending his parting shot. “Wake her up. People are hurting.”

  Devon stared after him. He could understand the old man’s frustration. Time was ebbing away. But an uncooperative Tori was not going to help.

  Still, time was a factor. Resolute, he returned and knocked on her door—hard. “Tori. It’s morning. Time to wake up.”

  He leaned in to hear her response, but there wasn’t one.

  He closed his eyes. She couldn’t escape that room. There was no way. The window was locked, and they were on the second floor. But his heart said she’d gone.

  The key to the lock was stashed on top of the doorframe. He quickly unlocked the door and pushed it open.

  “Tori? Are you here?”

  He flicked the lights on. Her bedding was tossed to the side, and there was no sign of her. Or her bag.

  Shit.

  He raced to the bathroom to double check, but the small, opulent room was empty. The window, however, was open.

  Fresh air blew his way and his heart began to pound as he leaned over the glass to peer out. What if her broken body was there, lying on the ground down below?