Deadlock

Chapter Twenty-Two

Alec watched the dust cloud from the final unwanted visitor disappear down his driveway and let out a quiet breath. «So,» he said to Andrew, who stood at his side, «how’s it feel to go down in history?»

«Pretty damn surreal.» The young wolf kicked at a piece of gravel. «Thought they’d never leave.»

It had taken them three hours to extricate themselves from sycophantic new admirers and faux-sycophantic enemies hoping to spot a weakness. Julio handled it with practiced ease, though his straightforward bluntness had blanched more than a few prissy faces. Alec was used to having the well-bred wolves stare at him as if he had two heads. Andrew, though…

Well, he’d get used to it too. He’d have to. «It helps that they expect you to be as ass-backwards and uncivilized as I am. My reputation can precede both of us.»

«Yeah.» Andrew squinted at him in the dying light. «So, it’s our job to take care of shit that goes down around here.»

«Yeah. We can do it different. Make alliances with other people. Psychics, the lions, the spell casters.»

The younger man nodded. «I want to look for the guy who attacked Kat. They still haven’t found him, right?»

One of a hundred loose ends Alec wouldn’t have time to deal with now. «No. I can probably get you the surveillance footage from his escape, and any files Jackson has. I’m sure he can help you out.»

Andrew shoved his hands in his pockets. «What about you and Carmen? Headed to New York soon?»

«We’ll have to spend some time there. Maybe a lot of time.» Alec’s gaze drifted to the other side of the drive, where Carmen stood with Julio, Miguel — and Kat. Though her hand was curled tight around Miguel’s, Kat’s gaze kept darting to Andrew with a furtive desperation Alec recognized — she was reassuring herself he was still in one piece.

He wanted to say something, but even he learned a lesson if you hit him with it enough times. Andrew would talk about Kat’s safety, but he wouldn’t talk about Kat. Alec changed the subject. «You and Julio will need to run the day-to-day stuff here. But we’ll have a few months to settle in. Get the lay of the—»

«I’ve got to go,» Andrew cut in with a rasp. When Alec looked up, he found Andrew turning away from Kat and Miguel and their joined hands. «Tell Kat that I — fuck.»

Six months ago, Andrew had stood in this same driveway as a newly made wolf, every instinct focused on Kat. He’d needed her so hard he’d hurt her, uncertain in his strength and the demands of his body. Sometimes Alec thought that each second the man had spent training since had been a desperate attempt to find control, to convince himself a fragile human woman would be safe in his arms.

Six months might not be enough. Six years might not be enough. Alec knew all too well how terrifying it could be to ride that edge of control and wonder if letting go would hurt the person you loved.

Carmen’s quiet empathy had given him peace from that fear, but there was nothing quiet about the power in Kat. Too easy to envision a thousand ways she and Andrew could hurt each other—kill each other. No easy answers there, and nothing he could say to comfort Andrew.

He still tried, because magic hung in the air and, for the first time in years, Alec wanted to believe in happy endings again. «Life cycles around, Andrew. Sometimes we get second chances. Maybe yours will be with her, or with someone you haven’t met yet. But trust me. It can be just as good the second time around.»

The declaration startled a grin out of Andrew, a broad smile that made him look, for just a moment, as laid-back and carefree as he’d been as a human. «You’re a hopeless fucking romantic.» He clapped Alec on the shoulder and dug his keys out of his pocket. «Congratulations.»

Alec returned the smile. «Go get some rest. Sleep late tomorrow — it’s the last chance you’ll get for a really long time.»

Andrew started to his car, and Alec turned toward Carmen again, but stopped when Jackson ambled down the porch steps. He lifted a hand, and the wizard shook his head with a laugh. «How’s it feel to be the big cheese around here?»

«Always have been, man.» Alec jerked his head toward the path around the house. «Walk with me?»

«Only if ‘leave the gun, take the cannoli’ isn’t going to be part of the conversation.»

Jackson seemed pretty fucking pleased with the world, though Alec supposed he’d been like that for a while. «Nah, had my fill of politics and violence for the night. I was thinking we should talk about the business.»

«Uh-huh. You leaving your name on the window for show, or did you have something else in mind?»

«We were always helping people, a few at a time. Supernaturals knew they could come to our office to find me. I was thinking maybe we could take that to the next level. Do more.» He smiled. «C’mon, Jackson. You know you wanna save the world with us.»

Jackson pretended to consider it. «Can saving the world wait ’til I get back from Vegas?»

His partner had joked about drive-through Las Vegas weddings so often Alec didn’t have to ask. He wasn’t surprised by the spike of happiness — Jackson deserved the love he’d found with Mackenzie — but it was oddly relaxing not to feel the usual accompanying jealousy. «About time. You better be damned ashamed if I end up hitched before you do.»

«No way. It’ll take a year to plan the kind of to-do y’all have to make.» Jackson glanced up at the darkening sky. «I’m engaged, you’re engaged, and no one’s dead. Seems like a good night for a party.»

«You’d know all about it.» Alec clapped his friend on the shoulder. «Why don’t you go get things started? I’ll be along in a few minutes.»

Jackson retreated into the house, and Alec sighed and glanced back to where Carmen still talked to her brothers. All he wanted in the world was a few uninterrupted moments with her. A chance to celebrate in private.

Maybe this was his first test as the leader of their region — smile and play host when he really wanted to chase his lover through the woods and take her where he caught her. The urge had been with him since the fight, but looking at her now, in the uncertain twilight with the wind stirring her hair and her eyes alight with pleasure…

Christ, he needed her.

He always would, and maybe that was the best part of all.

The house bustled with celebration. Music spilled out of the open doors and windows into the night, following Carmen as she slipped off the back porch and went in search of Alec.

Cicadas sang through the deepening darkness as she walked through the back yard. He wouldn’t return to the clearing, not so soon after the fights that had stained the ground that afternoon, and the barn was dark.

She followed her intuition more than anything, and it led her down a path she only vaguely remembered. It wasn’t until she heard the lapping of water that she felt him — Alec, deep in thought. Pensive.

Wondering.

Moonlight glinted off the lake’s marshy surface as she walked up to stand beside him. «Jackson and Mac went for pizza.»

His fingers curled around her hand. «With the way things are carrying on in there, I hope they took a moving van to bring it back in.»

«I hope they don’t get too much. Five minutes after they left, Walker and his brother showed up in a catering van. They’re boiling shrimp in your kitchen as we speak.»

A chuckle spilled free. «Every victory party needs a voodoo chef. John makes some damn good food, you know.»

«So I’ve heard.» She leaned her head on his shoulder. «What are you thinking about?»

«You.» One arm looped around her waist, and he tugged her to his chest and turned around slowly, away from the lake. «Right there. That’s where it happened.»

Her cheeks heated. «Where I ran like an idiot and fell asleep on you?»

«Where an empath up to her ears in feral instinct looked at me and saw safety.»

It was exactly what had happened, the only reason she’d ever allowed herself the luxury of rest that day. «What should I have seen?»

«A bastard. A stranger. A killer.»

«Nope.» She stroked his arm soothingly. «You tricked everyone else, but there’s no fooling someone who can see inside you.»

«And understand what she sees.» His chin came to rest on her head. «Everything’s going to change now. It’s good. It’s been a long time coming. But God almighty, Carmen…what if I’m not up to this?»

«Up to what? Making sure that all the people in your care, under your authority, have the opportunity to live their lives as best they can? That they have help when they need it, and someone to make them stop if they step over the line or hurt others?»

«No.» A whisper, fading into the night. «What if I’m not up to figuring out all the ways the world needs to change?»

There had to be things she didn’t even know about yet, but she knew where to begin. «The need, Alec. There have to be people out there who need your help, even if they think they can’t ask for it, or they don’t know how. Start with that. Then, the injustice. Every time someone expects special treatment or a different set of rules because of money or their family name.»

«We could spend the next decade on that.» He kissed her temple and then her cheek, his arms tightening around her waist. «Franklin finally told me where the money’s coming from, and Dade said there’s more if we need it. Enough to establish clinics throughout the Southeast. I was hoping you’d organize that, since I don’t know where to start.»

«I have a few ideas.» Carmen spun in his arms and looked up at him. «You can do this, honey. Just think of all the reasons you didn’t want to have anything to do with it in the first place. You can change them now.»

«We can change them now.» A full moon hung heavy overhead, reflecting the white glint of his teeth as he grinned down at her. «I’m going to marry the hell out of you, Carmen Mendoza. You’re not getting away. You’re mine.»

The perfect time to lower her walls and let him back in so he could feel her delight at his words. «Good. If you marry me, I won’t have to chase after you.»

His amusement curled around her, followed by his pleasure at the touch of her empathy. «I thought we had it pretty well established that I’m the one chasing you, no matter where you run.»

«Mmm, that’s what I let you think. You chased me until I caught you.» She stretched up until her lips brushed his. «Sneaky, right?»

«Mmm, sneaky. And bullshit.» A soft growl, and he nipped her lower lip. «Don’t pretend you don’t love getting caught.»

She loved everything, every part of being with him. Words failed her, but that was okay. She nuzzled her face to his and let him feel it instead, bypassing her clumsy tongue altogether.

For once he had the words, and he whispered them against her lips. «Love you. Love every damn bit of you.»

Contentment flooded her, a curious peace edged with excitement. «Your house is full of people. How am I supposed to drag you to bed right now?»

«Who needs a bed?» Teeth scraped her earlobe, a sharp bite as dark promise wrapped around her. «I’ll give you a head start this time.»

Anticipation and arousal curled through her, smoke from a building fire. «That’s wicked.»

«That’s nothing.» He released her and took a step back. «Wicked is what happens when I catch you.»

«If you catch me,» she countered, her mind already whirling with the sensual possibilities.

«I’ll always catch you.» Quiet. Sure.

The rest of Carmen’s life stretched before her, a continuous wave of good and bad, joyous and sorrowful, just like everyone else’s. This was what would make it perfect — unwavering devotion.

Love.

She turned and ran for the barn with a laugh. Every quick stride echoed her heartbeat, singing through her blood along with the joy they shared. Alec would catch her, and she would show him the moon.

The night, the world, was theirs, and all that mattered was the two of them.