Flirting Under a Full Moon - By Ashlyn Chase Page 0,35
can’t access the Council headquarters from the building’s elevator. I’m not even sure how I got there or exactly where it’s located. The outside architecture doesn’t match what I saw on the inside. They just spat me out there on State Street.” Nick raked his fingers through his hair.
“What did they say?” Anthony asked.
“I was in deep shit for revealing my true nature to a human, especially getting caught on camera. Mother Nature confiscated the camera, so she bailed me out there, but she made it clear that if I ever screw up like that again, she’ll have my hide.”
“Fuck.”
“Exactly. I told her that you wiped Brandee’s memory, but there were a few things I had to explain. I figured we should get our stories straight.”
Anthony’s jaw dropped. “You told them about me?”
“You were already on their radar. But they seemed glad that I went to you. They believed me when I said I trusted you.”
“Whew!” Anthony wiped his brow. “That’s a group I really don’t want to piss off. I imagine gods must be pretty invincible.
“No shit.”
“So what do I need to know?”
“Just that Brandee’s mind was wiped of my shifting. She knows nothing about my being a werewolf. However, I had to fill her in on the kidnapping. Apparently the victim told her parents that Brandee helped her get through it, and they called to thank her.”
“Christ. How did you explain to her that she forgot something like that?”
“I said the trauma must have made her blank it out. But I wonder if she’d believe that more if you lifted a few of her memory blocks about what happened. Then it would seem as if some of her memories are returning. That’s usually how amnesia works isn’t it?”
Anthony fiddled with a paperweight. “My power doesn’t work like that. I can add new memories of things that really happened if you tell me exactly what you want her to know. But I don’t want to spend any more time with Brandee than I have to—for her own sake.”
Nick leaped to his feet. “You can’t mean Ruxandra is still gunning for her.”
“Not exactly.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll just let Ruxandra hang around for a while and make her see I have no interest in any of my employees. Well, except for Claudia, but that’s just between you and me. I’d never put Claudia in danger by pursuing her until Ruxandra is out of the way—permanently.”
Nick whistled. “That’s quite a gamble. I hope it works.”
“It will…for now.”
***
“I’m surprised everything got cleaned up so quickly,” Kurt said. He and Tory grabbed a table in Brandee’s station. “I thought for sure the window would be boarded up for a few days.” Kurt leaned back in his chair and asked, “How are you holding up, kiddo?”
“I’m okay.”
“So it looks like you’re staying here?”
Brandee took her order pad from her apron pocket. “Anthony assured me Ruxandra won’t be a problem. Besides, I really can’t afford to quit.”
Tory shook his head. “It’s a damn shame he ever got involved with that psycho bitch in the first place. Do you really believe she won’t bother you again?”
“She has no need to. She was jealous because, for some damn reason, she thought I was involved with Anthony. Nick told her we were dating, and she’s noticed how protective he is. He’s been hanging around a lot, keeping an eye on me. I’m not supposed to know that, though.” She winked. “He’s keeping a low profile.”
Kurt glanced around the room. “He must be invisible. I don’t see him anywhere.”
“He’s in Anthony’s office. Probably threatening to have Ruxandra arrested if she tries anything again.”
Tory snorted. “Good luck with that.”
Just then, the door to Anthony’s office opened and Nick walked out. Simply laying eyes on him made her heart skip a beat.
“So, you and Nick, huh?” Tory sounded skeptical.
No more skeptical than Brandee would have been a couple weeks ago if she’d heard the infamous playboy had suddenly become monogamous. She still had moments when she wondered if it was real. “I know, I know. You’re probably going to tell me to be careful.”
“Nope,” Kurt said. “Because here he comes.”
Nick placed a possessive arm around Brandee’s waist. “Are these goons bothering you?”
She assumed he was just kidding. He was smirking at the guys when he said it, and then he sat down with them.
“Not at all. I was just about to take their orders.”
“A Corona for me,” Tory said. He glanced at the other two. “My doctor said I’m not