Warrior Reborn Page 9

  Generations had added their influences: a floor here, a redesign there, security measures, and artwork, practical and sensual. The Sanctum’s buildings and grounds, isolated and protected from human detection, were the only place the Guardians were truly safe.

  Her people had ventured to live among humans, but this was the home Ansgar had brought her to after they'd lost their parents. At six years old, Briet had joined the few other Guardian children sequestered in safety after a viral wave of death had swept through the adults of her race hundreds of years earlier.

  Home.

  From the stone pavers at the top of the gardens she watched Tsu. His blue-black hair, held back with a leather tie, gleamed against the pearl white of his cotton shirt. His fingers gently manipulated limbs of tomato plants along a bamboo teepee.

  “Ansgar’s not here today,” said Tsu. He didn’t turn from his work as she sat on the wooden bench behind him.

  “I know. He’s working with his salvage team today.”

  Tsu’s held the tomato stalk in place, then knelt to the ground and laid his hand on the soil. Green shoots pushed through the dark loam and unfurled in thin vines. Weaving their way around the tomato’s base and up, they spread and multiplied in fronds and leaves until they reached the bamboo’s top.

  Grace and beauty. His power revealed itself in every flower and blooming patch of vegetation across the Sanctum’s grounds.

  “Isn’t it late for tomatoes?”

  He glanced at her over his shoulder but continued with his work. “It’s still warm here. With the sun and some encouragement they’ll flower and produce in the next two months and give the peas here some shelter. Quan’s compound will have snow for many more months and her charges need a more diversified diet than I can create in that habitat right now. Next spring perhaps.”

  “Her effort must be going well.” Briet waited for him to brush his hands and come to sit beside her. His sister had left the Sanctum to start a refuge on an island bordering southern China. With security and seclusion, she welcomed women and children of abuse and neglect, providing them the safety and training to reclaim their lives. Tsu split his time between his duties at the Sanctum and supporting his sister’s construction of a new home.

  “Her efforts are successful. The shame is that there is so much need for them.”

  Briet nodded. There were so many options for ways to contribute and so few Guardians to make a difference.

  “But you aren’t here to catch up and see the gardens.”

  He was nothing if not insightful. Perhaps the reason he was so successful in his role as the Guardians’ defense master.

  “I’m not your brother, Briet, but you are part of my family. Please speak and share your burden.”

  “What makes you think I have burdens? I’m doing what I love. I have freedom again with Turen now leading our people and Salvatore gone.”

  “Yes.” He gave her a long look. “You are free to be in the world of humans, perhaps even seek your mate, yet you are hiding here.”

  She glanced away and wrapped her arms around her body.

  “Or have you already found him?”

  Where in the world was she to start? Hardly able to determine for herself why she was here, how could she explain it to Tsu? Baby steps. That’s what he’d always taught her. “I’ve found him.”

  “You seem uncertain.”

  “No. It’s just that it’s not like with Turen and Mia.” Finally, the problem. She had a fantasy about finding her mate. It should have been comfortable and easy.

  “Ah. As the first Guardian to find a mate and have a successful relationship in more than two hundred years, Turen’s relationship with Mia receives a great deal of scrutiny.” He leaned back against the bench, his legs out and crossed, his fingers casually twined over his stomach as he fixed his gaze on the expanse of Eden’s fields and orchards.

  The casual pose was a pretense. Briet knew him well enough to sense the subtle lecture coming. “They are so well suited and work together with such intimacy.”

  “Many nights together in the dark, dangerous cells of Xavier’s dungeons developed a unique bond of trust between the two. The rest of us did not have the benefit of witnessing the difficult choices and trials they endured to reach their current level of happiness. The illusion is ease and suitability. The reality, I believe, was hard work and commitment.”

  At least he wasn’t demeaning in his lessons. But he was right. She was taking their ending and comparing it to her beginning with Jason, both unfair and unrealistic.

  “Is your mate unkind? Unscrupulous? Ugly?” He kept his expression calm, though his dark eyes sparkled with a hint of humor.

  “He’s no ogre or troll.”

  The sparkled disappeared, replaced by faint lines of concern. “Is he married? Committed?”

  “No.” She waved away his worry. “He’s successful, very good looking, and very experienced.”

  His eyebrow shot up with her comment, but she hurried on.

  “People like him, respect him and women—” She wasn’t going there. “He has an outward persona of ambition, but his focus and actions are generous and protective.”

  She rubbed her hands, trying for warmth. Even with the sun beating down, she found it hard to stay warm or perhaps just stay objective. The conversation felt like a personal flaying, her thoughts laid open for assessment. Not Tsu’s intention, she knew. He was nearly as protective of her as Ansgar. Though he had objectivity when it came to her, where her brother did not.

  He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, watching her face. “Does he not have feelings for you?”

  “I think…” She swallowed uncomfortably. “No, I know he cares for me. His actions, his reactions reflect it.”

  “And you?” He asked the question quietly, but his look never wavered.

  “I care very much for him.” Every time she heard his voice, every time she saw his face. With every touch and thought, her tether to Jason grew stronger. Fine webs of emotion tied her heart closer in a bond she feared she couldn’t break. The potential existed for infinite happiness or never-ending pain.

  Tsu finally looked away. “Remember when you started training with the staff? You would attack and learn any position. But when confronted with a sparring match you would back off.”

  The memory still goaded her and she shifted uneasily. The lessons had been fun until she’d had to compete with the boys and some of the older girls. “You used to tell me I was my biggest handicap.”

  “You were. Your fear of failing and getting hurt led you to avoid practical moves to defend yourself. Once you were able to confront and conquer those fears you were able to win your bouts.”

  “We did hours of those drop and roll drills, even the punching drills. I still have bruises when I drop on my knees.”

  “I doubt that; unless you are not doing the sequence of training correctly.” He looked back again, his expression kind as he covered her hand with his. “What fear is holding you back now?”

  She blinked away the tears threatening. She didn’t do fear well. She didn’t do failure well. “What if I can’t be what he needs?”

  CHAPTER 12

  Briet exited the rear entrance of the lab building, surprised to see Jason joining her from the opposite direction.

  He had just left the hospital’s side entrance as she’d walked across the bridge span between the two buildings. That would mean he had walked all the way around the block to reach this point instead of walking through the building?

  With a quick nod, he gestured toward the street instead of into the adjoining parking garage. “You mind if we take the ‘T’? The restaurant is on the river, near one of the stops.”

  He addressed his question to her, but his gaze went over her shoulder, flickering back and forth between the lab’s exit and the street. Hands in his pockets, he didn’t attempt to close the distance between them and waited on her answer.

  She nodded. Giving into the compu
lsion to verify what he was looking at, she glanced back over her shoulder to check as well, though found nothing. There were no people. No cars. This exit was low traffic. Then again, all the security cameras were focused on the garage areas and the hallways inside because this pathway registered as low risk. He’d specifically asked her to meet him here. Coincidence? She doubted it. Jason did few things without premeditation, not driven as she was by emotion.

  Her instantaneous responses had gotten her in trouble several times.

  She preceded him down the stairs to the subway’s entrance. Out of the shadow of the hospital, his hand moved to her arm and guided her to the platform for the correct train.

  Amid the vibration of trains, they waited and listened. A man played his violin several feet away, case and coat at his feet. The sound and lilt of his music, delivered with vibrancy and energy, were at odds with his drab weathered clothes, bedraggled hair, and gnarled fingers that spoke to a harsh existence. Despite the calloused look of his fingers, magic flowed from his graceful motions. The soul-soothing notes drifted to the curved ceilings and tunnels of the rail station.

  Their train rumbled in and Jason pitched a rolled bill into the man’s violin case before he moved her to the opening doors. His body pressed behind her and he held her close as the platform swelled with people, young and old, weary and sly. Ushering her into the car, he shielded her against the wall, a hand on the overhead rung, the other protective at her waist.

  “So, where’s the baby?” she asked feeling the need to distract herself from his close proximity.

  He titled his head in surprise. “I don’t think I’ve ever even mentioned my car to you?”

  “Your reputation precedes you and you knew immediately what I was talking about.” Jason’s six-cylinder, three hundred eighty-five horsepower Porsche Carrera was the only topic nurse Groden had deemed worthy to discuss with Briet. She’d spared no detail of her friend’s ride in the vehicle.

  Jason grimaced. “Don’t believe everything you hear. It’s in my condominium’s garage. The restaurant is close to my place. I figured you might like the walk instead since it’s a nice evening. I can give you a ride home in the monster.”

  “Monster?”

  “It’s high maintenance. Cars need to be driven and pampered. She’s not bad on mileage for a sports car, but she’s a cop magnet.”

  He laughed when she couldn’t stop her eyebrow from shooting up.

  “I don’t get pulled over for tickets as much as I get pulled over by state troopers who want to see the car.”

  The train lurched. Briet grappled to stay upright and Jason pulled her tight against him, his hard body warm all the way from her breast to her thighs. The layers of their clothing didn’t dampen the electricity of the contact between them. His breath whispered in her hair, sending a tremor along the nerve endings of her neck and down her spine. Hot and cold, lust and want spiraled into sharp spiking need.

  Seconds later, his hand was gone, as if he’d realized he had been hugging her to him. But the sense of desire lingered. Briet clutched her purse, holding onto the pole at her side and watched the other occupants of the car to hide the heat of her cheeks. Bodies were wedged so close she couldn’t even see the windows.

  With a forward pull and a backward jerk, the train careened to a stop. They shuffled along with the throng of commuters up the stairs and into the crisp tang of the fall night air. The setting sun was no longer visible, just a fading glow over the roofline of the buildings. Gold surrendered to a bit of pink, darkened to light gray and then to black.

  Free of the subway’s smells of stale bodies and manufactured scents, she caught the tease of salt water from the river, close enough to tingle her sinuses.

  She relaxed as Jason moved her closer to him. He tucked his hand at her elbow, seemingly no longer interested in keeping distance between them. So wrapped in the post-dusk quiet and their forward motion, Briet almost didn’t realize he’d stopped until a gentle pressure pulled at her arm. He gestured with his head to a heavy oak door several steps below sidewalk level, framed by a brick façade and a rise of several stories of windows, some dark, others exposed by light.

  What restaurant hid behind this inconspicuous veneer?

  Once through the door, soft frosted globes of light spotted the walls and fat white glowing candles centered each red-clothed table. A pleasant surprise. She caught Jason’s glance as he waited for her reaction. Before she could comment, a smiling girl, of perhaps sixteen with long auburn hair and youthful bounce appeared.

  “Mr. Ballard. Your table is ready.”

  Not waiting for his response, she worked her way to a table along a far wall. His spot was secluded between rounded pillars, obviously more for ambiance than structural support. Briet took her seat and glanced around the room at the evening crowd.

  A family of six, crushed cheerfully into a red leather booth, chatted in one corner. Several other tables in discrete sections held couples.

  The girl handed them each a menu and winked at Jason. “Poppa will be glad you brought company.”

  He shook his head as the girl left. “I should have asked you if you like Italian?”

  “I like any and all good food.” She leaned forward. “I gather you know Poppa?”

  “It’s quiet and close to home so I come in here a good bit. Poppa has been here for years. Most of his customers are regulars, word of mouth clientele. Once you show up more than twice he’s committed to delving into his patron’s best interests.” Humor laced his comment as he opened the menu and glanced at the printed card attached inside.

  “Does he scrutinize everyone you bring?”

  Jason looked up from his menu, his eyes searching hers. “I’ve never brought anyone else here.”

  Her heart gave a leap and she tried to make it stop. Just because she was here didn’t necessarily mean he considered her special. Though the thought made little flutters tingle in her stomach. Not sure how to respond, she pretended to read the menu’s list of pastas, seafood, and meat dishes.

  “I’d recommend the specials if you’re undecided. They’re always delicious.” Finger laced over his menu, he glanced at her. “We promised no work discussion, but I want to be honest with you.”

  She tensed, checking his expression for a warning, waiting for him to push her away, but Poppa chose that moment to appear.

  “Mr. Ballard. Jason. Ah, and such a beautiful lady.” Bald pate, curly red hair over his ears, a caterpillar of a mustache, and a rotund middle capped off an open, cheerful personality.

  Briet couldn’t contain her smile. He was definitely a relative of the young hostess.

  In the course of a few minutes, Poppa had flirted with her, chastised Jason for not being in the previous week, poured them both Chianti, and convinced them to each try one of the specials.

  “You were saying…about work,” she asked, watching the chef and owner make his way around to other tables, entreating his customers to bread, wine, and levity on his way back to the kitchen.

  At Jason’s silence, she turned back. He seemed to be searching for words—again, unlike him.

  “It’s my job to get to know the team and to favorably manage the outcome of Welson Labs investment in the testing.” She watched a frown gather between his brows. He looked away from her for a moment. “I pursue people and fetter out a lot of information because it’s my job. How I do my job and whom I spend my time with has never been an issue for me. Not professionally or personally.”

  He paused, so she tried to pick up his train of thought. “But we conflict between those two?”

  Jason looked into her eyes. “I asked other doctors on the team to attend the reception. I didn’t ask any of them to have dinner with me. I wanted to see you again. But I think it’s good to keep both sides of our relationships compartmentalized.” The frown was back. “Sanyu, perhaps others as well, seem very interested in you personally. While I can’t find a reason for their attentions, I think keeping our relationship
private would be in your best interest.”

  Her best interest? “How?”

  He let out a breath and kept eye contact, deep blue and dark, his serious intent obvious. “What they don’t know, you can use to your advantage.”

  A little confused, she spoke without thinking. “You expect me to use you?”

  “If need be.” He looked entirely serious.

  “I’m not comfortable with that.”

  “Perhaps not, but for now will you trust me? I’m willing to strip away work from our personal lives, if you’ll humor me and attempt to keep our personal lives away from our work interactions.”

  Reminiscent of talking to her brother, concern and deeper worries were in his expression. Her wish to eradicate his apprehension would have to wait. She doubted he would say more before he was ready, always a cautious man. “You evidently feel strongly about this.”

  His lips thinned as he bowed his head closer to her. “Yes. I’ve learned to trust my gut. It’s never let me down. Something is warning me that we need to be more observant, cautious.”

  “Separate relationships, but equal.”

  “I doubt equal.” His hands released from their clasp over his menu, but he didn’t complete the gesture by touching her.

  Yes, cautious. Whatever was at play, it involved more than segmenting their relationships. However, for him, she would try.

  His eyes met hers and she felt sucked into their depths. Who was she kidding? There was no fight, no battle. She wanted to put up resistance until she knew all the facts, but she also wanted to trust in him more. He was hers, as much as she was his, to trust and to protect.

  Working for a lighter tone, she smiled. “Okay, so tell me something about Jason, which has nothing to do with Welson Labs.”

  He leaned back and blew out a breath, the seriousness fading. “Well, you’ve heard about the car.” He held up his hand at her raised eyebrow. “Just kidding. Welson Labs has been most of my life for the last several years. Believe it or not, it’s felt like I’ve lived out of my car a lot of the time with trials and conferences all over the country. The car and I got pretty attached.”