Chapter 238

Heather

The private terminal was legit. Blue metal slats wrapped around the small, one-story building, hiding what was beyond it from view. A man in a suit stepped through the door, holding it open as we got out of the car.

“Just this way. We have your baggage already loaded into the car.”

Wow. I’ve been to LAX a bunch, but I’d never flown like this. Please tell me we can come through here on the way back.

I’m pretty sure we can.

Okay. This did it. Being a Were was seriously awesome. Brent and I had flown first class on our honeymoon, but this was way better. “Do you always fly this way?” I asked Lucas.

“Usually, but there are times when it doesn’t work out.”

“Like?”

“Like when a fey named Gobble transports you to Costa Rica and we’re in a rush to get back to Texas,” Lucas said with a little grin and Claudia snorted a laugh.

“That’s pretty specific.”

“Well, it was a pretty specific kind of an event.” His grin faded away. “But yes, I usually travel this way. The flexibility comes in handy when dealing with werewolf business, and I’ve made considerable investments for many years that have paid off very, very well.”

I whistled. “You guys. Lucas is loaded.”

He laughed it off, but it was impressive.

I hadn’t been too keen on the whole going wolf thing at the beginning, but I enjoyed it now. And the perks? I wasn’t sure I would’ve risked my life by getting bit for this, but it was still nice.

Another giant SUV idled at the curb on the other side of the building. “Where does Samantha live?” I asked as we all piled into it.

“I looked her up, and she’s still living in the same apartment in some neighborhood called Los Feliz. Someone should tell them that’s grammatically incorrect.”

I snorted. “It’s pronounced fee-lez, not fah-lease, and I don’t think the locals care about grammar much. She’s probably pretty close to Griffith Park, which is nice, but it’s going to be a haul from here.”

We settled into a nice silence as we headed into the thick LA traffic. We’d debated too much on the plane. I was all talked out, and until we had new information, I was settling in for a wait. I leaned against the door, resting my head against the window. Being back was weird. I’d spent my whole life here, but I never missed it. Not until now.

We could come visit.

Maybe. I’m sure I’ll be tired of it in a few hours, but there’s something nice about it.

He grinned at me, dimples denting his cheeks. It’s okay to like where you came from.

I couldn’t help but smile back. It was the dimples. They got me every time.

I poked a finger in one of the dents and he laughed. Just relax for now, he said and I shifted in the seat to lean against him. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, drawing me closer to his warmth. We’ll be there soon enough, but being calm and centered will only help. Especially if Samantha’s powers are anything like yours. Or how they were before I bit you.

Fair enough.

At some point during the drive, I nodded off to sleep, waking only as we jerked to a stop.

“This is it,” the driver said, pointing out the passenger side window.

I rubbed my eyes as I tried to fully wake up.

You were really out, Brent said. I’m glad you got some rest.

Me, too. I feel like I could sleep for a million more years. I miss anything?

Not really. But we’re here. Brent nodded toward the window.

There was nothing to make this apartment building stand out from the others in the area. The street was filled with similar two story buildings—tandem parking spaces took up the bottom stories and top stories broken into units. This particular one was painted a fading light pink with mint green accents that had yellowed over the years of sun and pollution.

Claudia checked her watch. “I checked into Holy Ghost’s site and it says—”

“Wait.” Xander perked up. “What’s Holy Ghost?”

“It’s the private Catholic school that Samantha goes to.” She shrugged. “As I was saying, the school’s site says that it got out thirty minutes ago. It should take about that long for her to walk home. So, we should be here just in time to meet her.”

“Does she know we’re coming?” I asked.

“No. I was worried if I called or emailed, she’d disappear for the night. So, we’re surprising her.”

Great. Sounded like Samantha was going to be a dream to work with.

I got out of the car to stretch my legs, and the others followed. Adrian and Xander were shoving each other, laughing about something. Claudia and Lucas cuddled together, leaning against the car. Brent stood off to the side, letting me take everything in. Giving me the space he knew I needed and would never ask for.

As I turned to take in where we were exactly, I spotted a girl coming up the road. She wore a blue, gray, and white plaid skirt. A white button down was untucked, its long sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her brown hair—almost the exact shade of mine—was piled up into a messy knot on her head.

But it wasn’t those things that stood out to me.

It was the silver skull earbuds that glinted in the sun. The way she side-stepped anyone who came close to her and looked like she was stepping over some things I couldn’t see. She kept her head down as she walked. Sunglasses shaded her eyes from me but from her hunched stance, she couldn’t be staring at anything else but the ground.

I stood in the center of the sidewalk, waiting as she approached.

When she was a few feet away from me, she stumbled back a few steps and froze. Slowly, she pulled the earbuds out, and draped the wire behind her neck. “Whatever your question is, the answer is no. I’m notfixing that.” She motioned her hand up and down at me, as if my whole mojo was in need of fixing.

She was pretty spot on for not even touching me. Whatever power she had, it wasn’t smalltime.

Claudia’s footsteps sounded against the pavement as she moved closer. “Prima?”

Samantha pulled her sunglasses off, squinting at Claudia. “Do I know you?”

“It’s me, Samantha. Claudia.”

Samatha’s eyebrows raised. “Wow!” She looked Claudia over, and then took in the guys. “Seriously, cuz? Why in the hell would you get mixed up with them?”

“They’re good people,” Claudia said, and she didn’t even mumble. I wanted to give her a big high five for sticking up for herself, but I figured Samantha wouldn’t appreciate it.

Samantha’s gaze went back to her cousin, and her brows furrowed as if she were seriously considering whether or not that were true. “They’re trouble.”

Shit. She wasn’t going to help us. Whatever happened between Claudia and Samantha back then must’ve been bad. “I need your help,” I said.

Samantha nodded. “Yup. I can see that.”

“What can you see exactly?”

“More than I want to.” She slid her dark sunglasses over her eyes again. “A lot more.”

“Like?”

“Like I know they’re all werewolves, but you’re not just wolf.” Her tone is very matter-of-fact and almost bored, and I get the sense that she doesn’t appreciate me testing her. Because that’s exactly what I was doing.

“I can see the pack ties all wound around and spreading out, like a yarn shop vomited up all over you. I can see the ties that bind you to the hottie back there, and the ones that tie my cousin to that one—” Samantha pointed to Lucas. “But that’s all pretty obvious.”

She finally looked back at me. “Because I also recognize you, Heather. I’ve watched the news. And now that I’m looking at you, I want absolutely nothing to do with any of you. Two of you have ties to a demon, and from the look of the tie, he’s a real asshole. So, if you don’t mind, I’ve gotta get started on my homework. Midterms are next week and my chem teacher thinks we should understand the material regardless of how shitty a teacher he is.”

That was a pretty cold brush off, but at least she was being honest. And she was right to not want to get messed up with this. If I were her, I wouldn’t want to either. But I had to convince her to help us, because Samantha Lopez was definitely the person we needed.

“Please, prima. We need your help.” Claudia’s tone was a borderline whine.

“And where were you the last five years?” Her words weren’t too hostile, not yet, but I could see it coming from the defensive stance Samantha had taken. “Where were you when I was begging for help? Where were you when I got taken away by those idiots at child services and thrown into an institution?” Her words were dripping in bitterness.

I couldn’t stop the hiss from coming out. She was institutionalized for her abilities. That was enough to fuck up even the toughest person.

“Yeah. It was as fun as it sounds,” Samantha said. I couldn’t see her eyes through the dark sunglasses, but I was sure that part was aimed at me. “You never came to help no matter how many times I wrote to you.” She walked toward Claudia. “I begged you—”

Samantha looked off to the side for a long moment, and it was like the anger drained from her. When Samantha finally looked at Claudia again, she was much calmer. “You know what? I’m not doing this. Look, Cloud. I don’t blame you for bailing on me after we found out all that stuff about my dad, but don’t expect me to help you now.”