Chapter 29
Zeke pulled Sara away from the crowd with a smile on his face. For once, he was happy that he hadn’t told Ally everything about his past. Now, he had a secret weapon that none of the others, not even his guard, knew about. She tugged on his hand with a small laugh.
“Come on, Zeke, we’re far enough away now. Tell me what you want.”
He dropped her hand before turning towards her with a mock hurt expression. “Why do you always assume that I want something from you?”
Her blue eyes narrowed at him. “Don’t try to play me a fool. We both know that us both being here was a major coincidence.”
“How many times has you job taken you here?”
She shrugged. “Enough to know that your mate is a wonderful woman that cannot fight to save her life.”
“I’m teaching her that.”
“Good,” she said with a smile. “Now, tell me what you want, Zeke.”
“Do you remember that time I helped you in North Carolina?”
Her eyes flashed dangerously as a low growl escaped her mouth. “Do not bring up the past if you do not wish to relive it.”
“You kicked my ass when I tried bring it up then,” he admitted, “but that was when I was younger. Sara, listen to me, I need your help.”
She relaxed, but he knew it was all a ploy. Sara was never relaxed. The woman reminded him remarkably of himself. If there was ever going to be a female version of him out there, it would be Sara. “We ran into each other quite a lot in those days, and for some reason, I never could get over North Carolina.”
“You thought the murderer was a male, you didn’t expect it to be the woman.”
She shrugged in indifference, but he knew it bothered her more than she would admit. It was the first time she had screwed up, and Zeke had been the one to save her. Sure, when he taunted her afterwards, she had showed him who had been the smarter one. That was one lesson he had learned from Sara. If you are smarter than your opponent is, strength is just a minor factor.
“What do you need?” she asked.
“Your power,” he said, keeping eye contact with her the entire time. “I need to find someone, and you’re the only one who can help me.”
“You can’t do it on your own?”
If it was years ago, he would have puffed up in pride when he heard the disbelief in her voice. Now, he just smiled at her. “Not as fast as you can. Please, Sara, just help me find him.”
“Who?”
He smiled, knowing that he had caught her attention. “I like what you did with your hair.”
She reached up, touching the short hair that barely reached her chin. “People stare at the color more than they do the length,” she admitted, playing along with his waiting game.
“Purple highlights are not a bad as some of the hair I have seen.”
“Enough,” she growled, “tell me his name.”
Zeke laughed at her. “Marcus.”
Her eyes flashed again, and Zeke knew that Sara recognized the name. A large smile spread across her face that could only mean one thing. “You should have started with the name. It would have saved us some time. I’ve wanted to kill that man for a while now.”
“Sara,” he warned.
Her eyes widened in innocence. “What? I won’t do it without your permission.” All pretense of being nice left her face. “When the time comes, I want to help, Zeke. That man has caused a lot of hardship in our race. He turned many regular leopards against the others. I will not stand there and allow him to get away with genocide of our people.”
“So, you’ll help?”
She smiled at him, showing off teeth that were a little sharp on the edges. “Happily.”
“Good,” he said with a laugh. “We leave in an hour. Grab what you need and meet me by the van.”
He began walking away, but her hand snapped out and stopped him. “Wait, I want to tell you something.” She paused for a moment. “I once made the mistake of letting someone I loved walk away from me. Don’t do that with Charlie; you’ll break her heart, and I have a feeling you’ll break yours too.”
“I have no intention of allowing her walk away.”
“So I won’t be the only female traveling with you?”
He shook his head at her. “No. Even if I have to drag her kicking and screaming to the airport, I will.”
Sara dropped his arm with a smile. “That is what I like to hear.” She began walking away from him before pausing. “Oh, and Zeke, don’t worry about finding a flight out.”
She walked away before he could question her further. Shaking his head at her, he made his way back to Charlie. Sara liked her dramatics, would keep him guessing because it was what she loved to do with people. He just wished that the sadness in the woman’s voice would disappear. She was an old friend; one he had hoped would be out of the business by now. A small smile spread across his mouth. Years ago, he was the only one out of his group of guards that dealt with the woman. Others knew of her, but had never meant her. The thought made Zeke smile even more. He wondered how his guards would react to the addition.
“Zeke!”
Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, he looked at Charlie questioningly as she stopped in front of him. Her hands were on her waist, her eyes were narrowed, and she looked ready for a fight.
“What?” he asked, humor in his voice.
She frowned at him before standing straighter. “I’m going with you. I don't care if you want me to stay here; I'm going with you.”
Reaching out, he brushed a piece of her long hair out of her eyes. “You have an hour to get ready.”
She smacked his hand away from her. “I’m ready now.”
“Good, then you have an hour to tell your family goodbye.”
“Why do I have to tell them goodbye?” she whispered. Her whole face went from ready to fight to dread at having to tell her family goodbye. He knew that she hated telling people goodbye, but for now, it was needed.
“Because you’re mine now,” he answered. A glare flew onto her face, making a smile form on his. Reaching out, he turned her in the direction of her family. “Go ahead. I still have something I need to take care of.”
She didn’t move an inch until he began walking away once more. The smile stayed on his face, and with her by his side, he knew that this smile would not be the last.
आप पढ़ रहे हैं
Her Pact
काल्पनिकThird in the Their Pride Series: With everything now safe, Zeke is at a loss. What will he do now with all the emanate threats gone? The answers is simple, find out where Marcus disappeared to, and meet this mysterious Charlie that he's heard so...
