Uncaged Read online

  “How will we know if it’s causing problems?”

  “Disorientation for both of you. Humans often feel it as heart palpitations, dizziness. You’ll likely have problems with your wolf, though it’s possible your pulse will go erratic as well.”

  “Because when it’s functioning right, our souls power it jointly, but if it goes wonky then it throws everything off.”

  He nodded. “The biggest danger will be if the two of you fight or argue, but it could cause problems without a trigger.”

  Chapter 7

  Keisha

  I hadn’t set my alarm the night before, and I awoke a little before eight. We’d been awakened at five thirty every morning in prison, so sleeping until eight seemed decadent.

  The award show had been the night before, so I was hoping Darnell would be home today, but I hadn’t heard from him so I wasn’t sure. I checked my phone to see if he’d texted me, and saw a notification about new email.

  I smiled as I saw it was from him, and smiled even bigger when I read that he was home but had been awake all night, and was setting his alarm for noon. He wanted to take me to lunch when he awakened.

  I made my way down the ladder, started some coffee, and stepped into my tiny shower with relief. I’d been so afraid he’d go away and change his mind. It would’ve crushed me if he’d come back and been closed off again.

  I played basketball in high school, and I added to my muscles and curves in prison. I’d gone from breakfast to the workout room nearly every morning, and then spent the day in the salon. No one messed with me in prison once they knew what I was capable of. I got in trouble the first time I beat the shit out of someone, but the next time someone challenged me, I managed to take care of them away from the guards and cameras, and I stayed out of trouble.

  Depending on how I dress and fix my hair, I can pull off either badass or feminine. I chose something in between today, and wore a casual dress that showed off my curves. I put some cash and my driver’s license in a pocket, tucked my keys in my bra, and went out on my front porch a little before noon. I always have my phone with me, which means I always have a book with me, so I sat in my swing to read while I waited.

  I felt when his alarm woke him, and it took me a few minutes to get my breathing under control. My pulse raced, and I couldn’t tell if I was hot or cold for several moments. I breathed through it, and was fine within a dozen deep breaths. The experience had been unsettling, but I liked knowing he was awake.

  I hadn’t felt anything specific while he’d been in Nashville. I’d known he was okay, and had the sense he was hungry and sleepy a few times, but otherwise, nothing definite.

  But I knew he was alive and well. I could feel him. God, but I’d missed that feeling.

  “Where are we eating?” I asked when he walked across the yard to me. I could talk to him from far away without raising my voice, and his smile told me he was happy I’d remembered.

  “There are a handful of restaurants with fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, and grass fed meat. We’re eating at one called Farm to Fork today.” He’d waited until he was close to begin talking, and he stepped onto my porch as he finished his sentence. “I need to hold you in my arms right now. Come here, woman.”

  I’d missed the way he could give me such affectionate orders. His tone was as if he were telling me the most romantic thing, but his words were an order, and it never failed to make me want him.

  The days melted away as I stepped into his embrace and his heat enfolded me. Every cell in my body relaxed as I was finally home again. Darnell is home to me. “I’ve missed you so much,” I told him. “Not just this week, but since…”

  I stopped talking because I didn’t want to bring up bad memories. He kissed the top of my head. “Everything go okay this week?”

  I nodded, comfortable in his embrace. “Hailey lent me a series I’ve never heard of, but it’s so good, and I’ve practically devoured it when I haven’t been working.” I looked up, met his gaze, and his look clearly told me that wasn’t what he’d meant, so I added, “I can feel you again. I had a sense of when you were hungry or tired when you were out of town, but I didn’t get anything specific. But this morning, I knew when you woke up. I like knowing you’re always there.” I grinned. “You’re hungry now, so we should get moving.”

  I’d worried things would be awkward when he returned, but they weren’t. He held my hand while he drove, and he told me funny stories of things he’d seen while he’d been at the Country Music Awards. I told him a few funny stories from the salon. It felt good. Comfortable.

  Lunch was exceptionally good, which led to a conversation about our food supply and how he used to struggle to find real food — and not some chemical look-alike — but he’s thankful for the grocery stores now specializing in organic food, and the restaurants now catering to the people who’re conscientious about what they eat. I remembered the trouble we’d had finding food he could stand to eat.

  Prison food had been a chemical nightmare, and I felt so much better now that I could get real food. I didn’t bring that up though. I’d put myself in prison and I didn’t want or need pity for my time there.

  Everything was easy and comfortable until we returned home and he invited me into his house.

  I’d done a lot of soul searching about this while he’d been gone, and I told him, “Can we go to my house instead, please? Spending too much time in your house can jeopardize my parole. I love you and I want to figure this out, but…” I shrugged. “You shouldn’t want me there much anyway. It opens you up to my parole officer thinking he has probable cause to search your house.”

  Darnell sighed. “Tennessee agreed to take you only because we allowed for the clause to search you and your premises at any time. They also pointed out recidivism in drug cases goes down when the clause is in place, so at the time I didn’t worry about it.” He looked at me a few seconds, considering. “Okay. We’ll go to your house, and I’ll make an appointment with my attorney so we can talk about our options.”

  “Thank you.” As we headed across the yards, I added, “I’m sorry, but I need to be smart. I don’t want to go back.”

  “No, you’re right. I’ll have you over during the day as a guest, but we’ll be careful about it, and we won’t have you for an overnight until we get the legalities figured out.”

  “I love my little house, but you’re a big man.”

  He chuckled. “No shit. We might have to add onto it.”

  “No!” It came out more intense than I meant, and I lowered my voice to add, “If I get something bigger it’ll be because I’ve paid for it.” I shook my head, knowing this wasn’t coming out the way I wanted. “In prison, they talked to us about the difference in accepting help and expecting it. I appreciate all you’ve done for me, but I need to stand on my own two feet.” I let go of his hand and stopped, and he turned to look at me. I met his gaze and let him see inside me as I told him, “I get why you walked away from me, and I’m glad you’re back, but it doesn’t erase the hurt I felt. I was so alone. Abandoned.”

  He opened his mouth to talk and I took a step back. “No, let me finish. Please. This is really important and I need you to hear me.”

  He crossed his arms. “I’m listening.”

  “I need to know I’ll be okay on my own. I need to pay rent, buy groceries, get my own car. I need to stand on my own two feet. I’ve never done that. We were dating when my Granny died, and you helped me sell her stuff and moved me in with you. I’ve never been just me.” I shrugged. “I need to know I’ll be okay if I’m left all alone again.”

  He sighed. “You weren’t as alone as you thought you were.”

  I looked at him a few seconds before asking, “What do you mean?”

  “I know you tried to kill yourself a few days after you were sentenced. I arranged for the psychiatrist you were assigned to. She doesn’t do much pro-bono, but I convinced her to let the prison know she’d work with the recent suicide attempts. I paid h
er, Keesh.”

  I felt as if I’d been punched in the gut. I couldn’t talk, couldn’t fathom that he knew.

  “Why did you divorce me if you were just going to…?”

  “The wolf needed to know you were okay. The man couldn’t forgive you for hurting Darius.”

  He kept saying it, but I kept not understanding. I met his gaze. “How much do you know?”

  “Your Granny was the only family you had. When she died, I became your family, then Darius and me. When I turned my back on you, I left you alone.” He sighed. “I couldn’t go to you, but I did what I could to give you a support system.”

  I turned my back to him and crossed my arms. “The psychiatrist helped. I saw her once a week for a few months before she said I didn’t need her anymore. I’m not sure I’d have gotten what I needed from the group therapy sessions if I hadn’t had her in the beginning, so thank you.”

  “Tell me what you need from me now.”

  His voice was soft, gentle. He was ready to hear me. I turned back to face him. “I have a five-year plan.”

  “Good. Let’s go sit on your porch so you can tell me about it.” His smile was the same as the one he’d given Darius when he learned to ride his bike, or when he could finally hit bullseye with every shot. He was happy, proud. Pleased.

  “I need three years to build up a clientele and make friends with other stylists. Then, I want my own salon. I’ve done the numbers so I know how many regular customers I need in today’s numbers, and I know how to figure it again when I get close, to make sure it’s still the same. I took business classes, not just cosmetology classes. In three years, I’ll open a small shop with a few trusted stylists who also have their own customers. Two years later, we should be able to expand to a larger facility, where we can offer other services — nails, facials, massages.” I took a breath. “I don’t have a credit rating, so I need to save money to buy a car. If I can borrow the motor—”

  “Stop.” His voice was so forceful I cut my sentence off mid-word. “If you’d contested the divorce, I’d have paid you ten grand to sign the papers so we wouldn’t have to wait to go in front of a judge. I needed it to go through fast so the Navy wouldn’t discharge me. Single parents without a plan in place for childcare can’t stay in the military.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying the money’s yours.”

  “I thought you said you were ready to hear me?” I’d just told him I needed to stand on my own two feet!

  He stepped onto my porch and took a seat. “How’s this for a plan. We date for six months. I’ll spend a few nights a week here with you, but not every night. Instead of paying me rent, you’ll put money into a savings account so you can buy a car. Neither of us wants the headache of dealing with explaining a ten-thousand-dollar gift, so every time you owe me something, you put the money into the bank. When you have enough for a car, if you want me to come when you buy it I will, or you can take Bash so he can make sure you’re buying something dependable. We keep our finances separate for six months, and we look to see where we are. By then, my attorney will have explained our options for living together.”

  “I didn’t make much money the first couple of weeks, but I brought home almost five hundred dollars last week. Miri’s going to start giving me more hours soon. I need to stand on my own.” I’d wanted to ask how he knew Miri a dozen times, but it hadn’t been any of my business. I still wasn’t sure it was, but I needed to know.

  “How do you know Miri? Did ya’ll date?”

  “Miri’s brother retired from the SEALs to work for Drake. He invited me to Thanksgiving dinner at his sister’s house when I first moved to town.”

  Of course. I’d met her brother and knew he was retired military, but I didn’t know he’d been a SEAL. I smiled. “I know I have no right to be upset about the women you were with, but I’m glad you weren’t with her.” He moved to pull me to him, but I shook my head. We weren’t through talking and once I was in his arms I didn’t know if I could keep us on track.

  He gave me a smirk that told me he knew why I didn’t want contact right now, and asked, “Are you good with my six-month plan?”

  “I may need a year, but I agree to sit down and see how things are going at six months.”

  “The irony is that I make enough money to buy you ridiculously expensive shoes now, and I don’t think you’re interested anymore.”

  Chapter 8

  Darnell

  I wasn’t at all happy with what my attorney had to say. Keisha could get a DUI while transporting marijuana and likely not go back to prison, but if she was in the same room as a weapon — even if she didn’t know the weapon was there — she could end up back behind bars.

  Our only option was waiting until she was off parole and trying to get a judge to expunge the felony. My attorney said there was actually a good chance of making this happen if she were a successful business owner at that time, but it would mean waiting years until we could officially live together again, or re-marry.

  As I drove up the mountain to Abbott’s home, I kept my mind on how Keisha and I might make a relationship work while I have over a hundred weapons — some of which I’ve had to acquire special licensing to legally purchase and own.

  An elderly woman let me in and pointed me downstairs, and someone at the base of the steps walked me into a cave. I was more than a little surprised to discover the master vampire’s home opened up into the underground caverns of Lookout Mountain, but didn’t say anything. I was led to a jail cell situated in a grotto, and I coolly took in the view.

  A man was bent over a sawhorse, his ankles restrained to the outside of the base, his arms behind his back, and his torso bound to the top of the horse.

  Two Lucite sheets were above and below his balls, with four long screws through the corners. As the screws were tightened, his balls would be compressed. It didn’t look painful yet, but I was certain that would likely change before the evening was over.

  A man standing in the corner pointed me to a chair at the side of the restrained vampire.

  “Tonight is about positive and negative reinforcement. While he’s feeding properly, he’ll get a blowjob. If his actions would endanger a human, the screws will be tightened and he’ll be assfucked. He isn’t gay or bisexual, so he’d like to keep this from happening. The screws won’t be released until he’s finished feeding, but the assfucking will stop and recommence as he gains and loses control.”

  I smelled Abbott long before I heard him, and was facing the door when he stepped inside.

  “Good evening, Darnell. If you can lie on the gurney against the wall, please? We’ll push you to him once you’re ready.”

  I felt him calming and relaxing me, and I shook my head. “I can handle this. I’d rather you weren’t in my head.”

  “I know you can handle it, but I’d like to make the experience as easy on you as possible. I won’t interfere with your free will in any way.” His voice was sharp and fast, all business. “If you move away before we move you away, your payment won’t count. I’ll hold you in place with your mind if you’d prefer, or we can put loose restraints on you, so it’ll take you a few seconds to move away — enough time to remember you don’t want to.”

  I pulled an elastic band from my pocket. “I’ll restrain my arms behind my back. It takes me less than a second to get out of them, but it’s enough time to slow any instinctual actions.”

  He nodded, and I walked to the gurney. I knew I’d want to change as soon as this was over, so I undressed and then covered up to my waist with the sheet as I stretched out on the gurney.

  Abbott made the new vampire drink from a vein instead of an artery, which meant the ordeal took nearly fifteen minutes — and fuck, the initial bite hurt. I’m told experienced vampires can make it pleasant, but this guy didn’t have a clue. Also, when he was hurting, the bite felt like someone stabbing and re-stabbing the same wound. Thankfully, it wasn’t as excruciating when he was being given
a blow-job.

  I remained statue-still through it all, but I had to force myself to sit through it the last two minutes. My heart stuttered a few times as he drank me down, and within seconds of them moving the gurney away, I was the wolf.

  I didn’t expect to see Abbott again, but he joined me as I was eating the feast fit for a king his cook had prepared.

  “I have need of a snake.”

  I lifted an eyebrow and kept eating. My son is now impossibly a snake-wolf hybrid, but no way was I offering him up to Abbott.

  He put a tablet in front of me and I looked at a set of blueprints. “I need a snake to get through the fence and into an outdoor party. He’ll have to be okay wearing a camera, so we can see and hear who’s there. That’s it. He can stay hidden in the bushes forty yards away.”

  “And why should my son do this for you?”

  “Because I’ll put the suggestion into Keisha’s parole officer’s head that she’s going to be fine and should come off supervised parole. My attorneys tell me we’ll need to wait until her one-year checkup. Once she’s officially released, I’ll make sure whatever judge you go before agrees it’s a good idea to expunge her felony.”

  I sighed. “Who do you need spying on? And where?” I wasn’t agreeing to it, but with that offer on the table, I had to ask.

  “South Carolina. It’s technically my territory, but there are those trying to take it back. If I’m within fifty miles of the party they’ll know, but I very much need to hear what’s said. Snake shifters are rare, and they haven’t put snake detection into their security. Darius knows how to stay downwind and avoid detection.”

  “And if he’s found?”

  “He’ll likely be killed.”

  I shook my head. “Let’s figure out a way to get me in.”

  “If there was a way to get a man or wolf in, I’d have planned for it.” He smiled. “Your son is in the market for various vampire accoutrements, some of which are prohibitively expensive and can take months to be special made after an order’s placed. I can help with both the cost and the lead time.”