Victor Page 6

  "It's just one concert," I argued quietly. "If we're going to turn Alexa around and get her pointed in the right direction, she needs a friend. A good friend. Someone other than Ryan Myerson and people like him."

  "When's the concert?"

  "Tomorrow night."

  "Well, I'm coming with you," Havoc growled. "To make sure Alexa doesn't try anything."

  "No you're not," I asserted right away.

  Havoc narrowed his pale green gaze on me. "Why not?"

  I applied a little more tung oil to my rag and slid it down the length of the bow. "Because I don't want you giving her any dark looks while I'm trying to bring her over to the undark side. Besides, what do you think she's going to do?"

  "I don't know," he grumbled. "But she's a witch and I don't trust her."

  "What happened to you and Samantha?" Defiance demanded like he preferred the match, and acting like I'd betrayed Torrie's sister by going out with Alexa.

  "Nothing," I answered, keeping my voice steady even though a sudden fierce longing overtook me at the mention of her name.

  "What do you mean?"

  "I mean nothing happened," I muttered and wished Defiance would just leave it. I didn't need to be reminded about Samantha and how she didn't want anything to do with me. "Samantha isn't interested in me."

  "And you're just going to take no for an answer?" he pressured me.

  I slammed the bow I down on the coffee table. "I'm going to try," I gritted and stalked from the room, leaving my cousins sharing a stunned look.

  Up in my bedroom, I scraped my hands back through my hair and glared at my reflection in the mirror over the antique dresser. My aqua eyes burned back at me with an angry glitter of light. "Move on," I whispered to myself. "Samantha doesn't want you around. And Alexa needs your help. So help, dammit."

  And I fell back on my bed with a renewed sense of determination…but no happier.

  On Thursday night, Alexa picked me up at the house then handed me her car keys like she expected me to drive. I hesitated a bare second before I ushered her to the other side of the car and closed her inside the big SUV. Then I walked around to the driver's side and slid into the seat.

  Fortunately, MacKenzie had given me several driving lessons by that time so I didn't think I'd have any trouble getting to Red Rocks, which was only a relatively short trip down the highway. Of course, it was always a little risky for any of my family to drive since we might get pulled over and none of us had ID, but Alexa and I made the trip without incident, parking in one of the high lots and making our way through the turnstiles.

  I'd never been to Red Rocks Amphitheatre before so I was in for a surprise. The stage sits at the bottom of the slope and wooden seats climb the hill in front of it. Huge tilting slabs of rust-colored rock enclose the seats on either side. "This place is amazing," I murmured.

  "I know," Alexa bubbled. "This is the best place for concerts. Bands from all over the world want to get in here to do a show."

  "Where are our seats?"

  "This way," she answered, grabbing my hand and pulling me up the steps behind her.

  On our way up the stairs, a whistle rang out from nearby. I followed the sound about twenty feet across the stadium and caught the grinning face of a kid maybe a year or two younger than me. He was with a crowd of his friends and eyeing Alexa, who I understand is quite attractive to humans. "Hey Baby," he shouted at her. "Where you goin'? I'm right here!"

  Alexa stopped and narrowed her eyes on him. "You need to teach that guy a lesson," she growled at me.

  I was a little taken aback. To be honest, I've never understood that kind of jealousy in men. One glance at the kid told me he was a nice guy. And whistling at a lass you think is pretty isn't exactly a crime. "He's just trying to tell you that you look nice," I soothed. "And you do look very nice tonight. Very…hot."

  My compliment softened her cold gaze slightly before she returned to scowling. "That doesn't give him the right to whistle at me."

  "You're not…flattered?" I asked her.

  She threw out her chest and I had to step back quickly before she knocked me down the stairs. "Of course I am," she hissed. "But that's not the point! You should be jealous."

  I frowned down at her. "If he was trying to harm you, I'd protect you. But—"

  She glared up at me, her knuckles white as her fist closed around her locket. "If you cared about me, you'd beat the crap out of him."

  "But I—"

  "I know you can do it," she snarled. "I saw the way you took out the football team. All I'm asking is for you to trash this guy the same way."

  And…madly enough, for a few seconds I actually felt compelled to throw a punch at the poor teenager. I even found myself stalking toward him with my fists knotted at my sides. It was only with a great will of effort that I was able to apply the brakes. And it wasn't because of the foolishness of getting in a fight that might send the police knocking at our door. It was the last glance I threw back at Alexa that changed my mind. It was the ugliness that smoldered in her expression. And I couldn't help but think back to the last time I saw Samantha. How her inner beauty glowed in her features. And I knew that Samantha would never ask me to do something like this.

  I broke off at the last moment. "Come on," I growled, striding back toward her and roughly grabbing her arm as I hurried her up the stairs.

  "You're not going to do anything?" she demanded.

  "I'm not going to hit that poor guy, if that's what you mean. But if you want me to do something, I'll be happy to take you back home."

  She glowered up at me.

  "Take your pick," I muttered, forcing a calm note into my voice. "We can stay here and watch the concert or we can head home, right now."

  It was almost scary how quickly her expression changed. One minute she was glaring up at me and the next minute she was all girly sweet again. She threw her arms around my neck and locked her gaze on mine. "Oh Victor, you're so…authoritative. It's so hot! It just makes me want you like crazy."

  And that was not what I wanted to hear. Leaning away from her, I peeled her arms from my neck and tried to smile even though I was so not feeling it at that point. "Let's find our seats," I suggested gruffly.

  "How'd it go?" Defiance asked when I got back home and was hanging my leather jacket in the entry closet.

  "The band was good," I allowed, wondering why everyone was still up at one o'clock. It was almost like they were waiting to make sure I got home okay. Seriously, it was like having four helicopter moms. "Everything else was…"

  "What?" Defiance demanded, jumping on my words.

  "Trying," I admitted, and ignored the look of vindication he shared with the others.

  "Did you see any signs that you're rubbing off on Alexa?" Dare asked. "Anything that would suggest she's turning her life around?"

  "Not exactly," I replied evasively. "But I didn't see her do anything bad either." Okay, I was exaggerating somewhat on that one if you counted the kid she wanted me to beat up. "We just went to a concert together then she dropped me off here. Why are you guys up so late?"

  It was their turn to be evasive because none of them answered my question.

  "She didn't try to take you home with her?" Havoc asked, his tone light but his gaze sharp.

  "Nay," I answered, leaving out the part about how she'd almost attacked me in the parking lot after the show. "What time do we have to leave tomorrow?" I asked, changing the subject.

  Sophie's elementary school was hosting a talent show as their school year wound down, and Havoc was dancing with her. They'd been practicing for months.

  "We'll want to get away from here by one o'clock," Havoc said. "The show starts at two."

  "Is the Boulder crowd going to make it?" I asked.

  "Reason and Elaina promised to be there," he answered. "Chaos and Torrie said they'd try but Torrie has school…"

  I rubbed my fingers along my chin and nodded. We did not want Torrie getting into trouble with her dad beca
use he'd probably blame Chaos. And we didn't want him thinking my brother was a bad influence because he might not let Torrie see him anymore. And after everything the two young lovers had been through together, that wasn't even an option.

  On the other hand, the Pine Grove girls were down for ditching their afternoon classes. Mac and Whit had even convinced Mim to join them so the entire Pine Grove contingent would be there. And Whitney had reserved her mom's van to get us to Denver.

  But it took a little longer than we expected to get eight people in the same place and ready to go. And by the time we climbed into the van, we were running behind. Whitney managed to shave five minutes off the drive by blasting through the canyon at sixty miles an hour, but we still got to the school a little late, rushing into the auditorium as the show started.

  One wall of the big room was almost entirely taken up by a low stage, a small set of steps leading up to it from the floor. In front of the stage, the entire school sat cross-legged on the carpet, which helped absorb the murmur of excited chatter coming from the children. Behind the kids, chairs had been set up for the parents. Reason, Elaina and Chaos were standing just inside the wide double doors, waiting for us.

  "Hey," I murmured, grasping arms with my brothers. "Glad you could make it."

  "We wouldn't miss it," Elaina insisted, hanging on to Reason's arm and smiling up at him.

  "Torrie's sorry she couldn't come," Chaos said looking a little lost without the tiny blond at his side.

  "She's only fifteen," I said quietly as we moved into the auditorium. "And we don't want her father blowing up at her for ditching school."

  "Nay," he agreed.

  "When does she get out?"

  "School's out in three weeks," he answered. "Same as Pine Grove." He lifted Torrie's cell phone in his hand. "I'm supposed to get the dancing on video for her. Hope I push the right button."

  "Maybe you should hand that job off to one of the girls," I suggested. "Only because your fingers are so thick."

  "That's a good idea," he agreed and stepped away to talk to MacKenzie.

  All of the chairs were taken so we stood along the wall at the back of the room while Havoc went and sat with Sophie and the rest of her class. As he dropped down beside her, her face lit up like somebody had just made her queen.

  "So, did you get your entries in for that contest?" I asked Reason who was crammed against the wall beside me, his shoulder touching mine.

  "Aye," he whispered as the principal announced the first performance. "Although I didn't spend too much time on my piece. But I think Elaina has a good chance of winning."

  "Could you draw anything you wanted or was there a theme?"

  "There was a theme," he answered in a hushed voice as a young lass started singing on the stage. "Wings over Boulder."

  "Wings over Boulder?" A chill crept down my spine as I automatically pictured Vilschka and Motschka circling the sky above the small city. "Unusual topic," I whispered.

  Reason nodded and turned to say quietly in my ear, "Elaina drew a harpy. She stayed up all night working on it. It was really amazing."

  "A harpy?" I muttered, and rubbed a hand over my mouth. "Please tell me you didn't answer with a gargoyle."

  "Of course not," he murmured.

  "What did you draw?"

  "A stork."

  "A stork?" I questioned him on a quiet burst of laughter. "Is Colorado even on the stork migration route?"

  "Not that I know of," he answered beneath his breath as the first performance came to an end.

  "So, why a stork?" I asked as we I joined everyone else clapping for the young singer.

  "Because I wanted Elaina to win," he replied.

  I grinned. That made sense. "You mentioned a significant prize," I prompted him.

  "Aye, the winner will get a deal for ten more pieces at two thousand apiece."

  "Two thousand apiece," I echoed in an awed whisper as a youngster walked across the stage with a clarinet in his grip. "That's twenty thousand dollars."

  "I know, right? Elaina could really use the cash. And the win would do a lot for her confidence."

  "Confidence?" I snickered. "I never noticed that Elaina had a shortage of confidence."

  "She doesn't, generally," he admitted. "But she does a bit when it comes to her art."

  But we cut our conversation short when one of the mothers seated in front of us turned and gave us a stern frown. And after the clarinet performance and a short magic show, it was Sophie's turn on the stage.

  Havoc jogged up the steps ahead of her and grabbed the microphone from the stand where it had been left after the last performance. "Ladies and gentlemen," he shouted into the mic. "Please give it up for Miss Sophie Kowalski of Mrs. Jefferson's sixth grade class!"

  "Give it up?" I laughed. But my words were drowned beneath the cheers of my pack, Elaina sticking two fingers in her mouth and producing an ear splitting whistle. And as Sophie climbed up to the stage and her teacher started their music on the CD player, Havoc danced a few steps toward her. As soon as he stopped, she answered him with the exact same steps.

  "Isn't that the music from that movie?" I whispered. Locked in my stone form, I'd listened to the film a few times over the last forty years though I'd never seen it and couldn't remember the title.

  "Dueling Banjoes," Elaina confirmed, who's a fan of old films. "From the movie, Deliverance."

  We watched as Havoc reeled off a few more steps and Sophie copied him again. His challenges became longer and more complex as they exchanged dance steps a few more times then finally broke into dance together at the same time the two banjoes joined melodies. And everyone in the crowded auditorium was clapping along to the music as Havoc and Sophie banged and clattered up on the stage.

  Needless to say, the clogging performance was a huge success and, afterward, the president of the PTA approached Havoc about putting together a class for interested students after school. Of course, Havoc had to turn her down because he couldn't drive and didn't have a car, let alone any ID that would allow him to be paid. So he said he'd get back to her if anything changed.

  And after we'd all rained as many congratulations on young Sophie as her slender shoulders could bear, it was time to head back to Pine Grove. The little girl's cheeks were still flushed pink but she turned suddenly solemn at the prospect of goodbyes. With her gaze fixed on the floor, she chewed on her bottom lip as Havoc lowered himself to one knee in front of her.

  "Chin up, Miss Sophie," he said. "You were spectacularly splendid today."

  "And…jolly awesome?" she asked in a small voice.

  "And jolly awesome," he assured her with a flashing grin. "T'was an overwhelming triumph of clogging excellence."

  She nodded without removing her gaze from the floor.

  Havoc tilted his head as he looked at her. "Sophie? What's wrong?"

  "Nothing," she mumbled without looking at him.

  He studied her face a long moment. "Sophie," he finally said. "Now that the performance is out of the way, you're probably thinking we don't need to practice anymore. I mean, you'll be going to middle school next year and you're probably thinking you're too old to be banging around in a pair of wooden shoes."

  Her eyes filled with dread as she lifted her gaze to his face and gave her head a slight shake.

  He lifted a finger and gave it a stern waggle. "But I don't want you getting rusty. I mean, you're my protégé and I can't have you making me look bad. So I'm thinking we should get together at least once a month, just to keep up your dancing skills. What do you think?"

  A shy smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

  "Now, I won't take no for an answer," he warned her.

  "Okay," she answered softly, her green eyes glowing with timid joy.

  "Good, then. That's settled," he said decisively, grasping her arm gargoyle-fashion and giving it a squeeze. "I'll see you at the end of May, then again in June." And he was still waving back at her when he stepped into the wide corridor outsid
e the auditorium. "Cute kid," he said affectionately as he joined the rest of the pack heading for the exit.

  Chapter Six

  We were still congratulating Havoc on his performance when we walked through MacKenzie's front door later that afternoon. And as we hung our jackets on the pegs in the entry, we were surprised to find Hooligan waiting for us with his bowl clamped in his jaws.

  MacKenzie knelt to greet him. "I'm sorry, boy. Did we forget to feed you before we left?"

  "That's his water bowl," Havoc pointed out, and eased the plastic container from Hooligan's mouth. "I topped off his bowls at noon. But I'll take care of this right now."

  Havoc kicked off his shoes and padded toward the kitchen with Hooligan hot on his trail, the dog quickly dunking his face in the water bowl as soon as it touched the tiled floor.

  "Wow," Havoc murmured. "Slow down, boy. Why are you so thirsty?" He gave Hooli an accusing look. "You haven't been licking the salt block MacKenzie put out for the deer, have you?"

  Hooligan jerked his head upward and gave it a rough shake, spraying the floor with water that splashed from his dripping muzzle.

  "Okay," Havoc laughed, and gave Hooligan a scratch behind the ears. "Okay, I believe you. Now quit making a mess. And be sure to tell us if you need to go out after guzzling all that water."

  But amazingly, Hooligan didn't ask to go out for his usually nightly run in the park. And when we showed up at Mackenzie's in the morning, he still hadn't been outside. The wolfhound carried his water bowl into the kitchen and dropped it at Havoc's feet before we could even get started on breakfast.

  "Are you still thirsty?" Havoc asked. He dropped to one knee and held the dog's head in his hands.

  Mac was starting to look worried. "I just filled his water bowl. I can't keep up with him. He's not usually this thirsty. And he hasn't touched the fool you put out for him yesterday."

  "Something's wrong," Havoc said.

  MacKenzie crouched down beside him. "He doesn't look good," she agreed. "His eyes are dull."

  "And his nose is warm and dry," Havoc added.

  "If he isn't better this afternoon, I'll make an appointment with the vet," Mac decided.