Found (The Crescent Chronicles #3) Read online

  Chapter Fifteen

  Slipping past Pterons isn’t easy, but it is possible. I woke up on the Monday after the ball on a mission. It was time to get Jess back.

  I slept in as late as possible, well aware that talking to Hailey more than I had to was a bad idea. She’d become incredibly good at reading my mood, and she’d know I was up to something if I gave her a chance to find out. I finished my breakfast twice as fast as normal and rushed to class. I was already seated in Organic Chem when Jared sat down next to me.

  “Morning, Princess.”

  “Good morning,” I mumbled, studying my pen.

  “What? No snazzy retort?”

  “Snazzy retort?”

  He grinned. “I thought it sounded fun.”

  I set aside my pen. I’d tip him off if I didn’t respond to his ribbing. “I love how you only let your geek side out around me.”

  “I don’t have a geek side.” The defensive tone in his voice was comical.

  “Yes, you do.”

  He set up his laptop. “It takes one to know one.”

  “I don’t deny mine. I own up.”

  “Yeah, I know.” He laughed. “Hey, where’s the computer? Did you break it already?”

  “Very funny. I forgot to charge it.”

  “Add a ditsy side to the geeky one.”

  “I won’t own up to that one. Forgetting to charge a computer doesn’t make me ditzy.” That was my cover story—I couldn’t bring my computer where I was going.

  At least I could keep things light with Jared. I was actually kind of enjoying the banter. Unfortunately, he was going to hate me for what I was about to do.

  The professor started class, and I dutifully took notes even though I knew I’d be leaving my notebook behind.

  I waited twenty minutes for good measure before tapping Jared on the shoulder. “Bathroom,” I mouthed while gesturing to the door.

  He nodded before turning back to his computer. He’d tried to follow me to the bathroom once during class and regretted it quickly. I’d been counting on him remembering that lesson. The solution to the bathroom problem was to plant a Pteron in the hallway outside my classes. The one on Mondays was a guy, so I knew he couldn’t follow me in either.

  Pushing open the wood door, I glanced over my shoulder and smiled at the Pteron. He half smiled in greeting as I let the door close behind me.

  Without wasting any time, I climbed on the vanity and reached up to open the window. It didn’t budge at first, but I refused to panic. I took a deep breath and tried again. It squeaked as it opened, and I tensed waiting for the guard to run in. He didn’t.

  The window wasn’t huge, but I was pretty sure I could squeeze through it. I hoped no one was outside at that moment, because I would have flashed anyone passing by. Wearing a skirt wasn’t ideal, but jeans would have been too casual for what I was doing. I put my head through first, wiggling the rest of myself through while trying to hold on so I wouldn’t fall. Thankfully it was a first floor bathroom, but that didn’t mean falling into the bushes would feel good. I made it out in one piece and stopped to smooth out my skirt.

  I checked my watch before taking a quick walk over to the front of campus, relieved to see the white cab waiting along the curb. “The Crescent City Hotel, please.”

  I tried to relax, but it was impossible. I watched the houses as we drove down St. Charles Avenue. I was getting ready to do something that was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. Most likely it was a little of both. Either way, it wasn’t something I wanted to do.

  I paid the driver and walked into the lobby.

  “Allie?” Billy’s upbeat voice called out to me before I reached the elevators.

  “Hey, Billy.” I took off my sunglasses and faced him.

  “What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in ages.” Billy was such a nice guy. He was also a bellboy at my dad’s hotel who had a huge crush on Jess. The manager of the hotel, a Pteron, had let all of the non-Society staff off for the night of the ball, so it had been a long time since we’d run into each other.

  “I’m just meeting someone.”

  “Okay, cool.” He looked nervous, and I knew what he was about to ask. “Have you heard from Jess?”

  “Not for a few weeks.” That part was true.

  “Oh, that’s cool.”

  “Yeah. Well, it was nice seeing you.” I smiled.

  “Same to you. I should get back to work.”

  “See ya around.”

  I entered the elevator without running into anyone else and hit the button for the fifth floor. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I could do this. The trick was to stay calm. The elevator reached the fifth floor, and I got off. I stalled outside the room for a moment before I got up the nerve to knock.

  “Hi, come on in.” His voice was breathy, and his eyes matched. I steadied myself as I walked into Cade’s suite. I could handle this. I’d put so much work into getting down to the hotel by myself, I couldn’t screw this up.

  I stepped inside and waited as he closed and locked the door behind me. Why’d he have to lock it? I looked around the room and my heart sunk. He had the curtains drawn and candles lit. Never mind that it was the middle of the afternoon.

  “Going all out, huh?” I gestured to the white pillar candles. Other than the ambiance, the suite looked a whole lot like the one I had a few floors above.

  “We’re only going to get one first time together.” His eyes smoldered.

  “Oh—um, we’re not actually… I didn’t come here to sleep with you.” I could barely speak coherently. The nerves and the message his eyes and body were sending me did not make a good combination.

  “Are you sure about that?”

  I forced myself to look away from his eyes, and I took all of him in. The top few buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned, giving me a pretty good view of his chest. Pterons all seemed to have incredible physiques, and Cade’s chiseled body was no exception. It was all way too much. “Would you mind turning on some lights?”

  “Are you nervous?” He smiled, but it wasn’t in a condescending way. He seemed to actually care.

  “Very.” Just not for the reason he thought.

  “Here, I’ll pour us some wine. It’ll help you relax.”

  “Wine?”

  “A Barbera from our family’s estate. I assure you, it’s good,” he explained proudly. Evidently the Laurents weren’t the only ones with wine interests.

  “Would it be okay if I sat down?”

  “Of course. Take a seat.”

  I sat on the edge of the couch as I waited for Cade to pour the wine and join me.

  He handed me a glass before raising his own. “To a beautiful woman and my future mate.”

  I smiled and put the glass to my lips, but I didn’t sip. There was no way I was drinking in that situation.

  “I’m so glad you decided to stop by. I was beginning to think you weren’t going to.” He sat down next to me, leaving less than a socially acceptable amount of space between us. If either of us moved our legs, they would have been touching.

  “It’s hard for me to get out by myself.” I was already waiting for my cell phone to vibrate in my purse again. It had been doing it every few minutes since I’d slipped into the cab.

  “I understand Levi’s reluctance to let you out unprotected. I’ll do the same. You can never be too safe.”

  “You keep talking like our being together is inevitable.” I swirled around the wine in my glass.

  “Isn’t it?” He leaned forward and put a hand on my leg. I shifted, hoping he’d get the hint and move it. He didn’t. Instead he slowly moved it further up. I really shouldn’t have worn a skirt. I stood up.

  He laughed lightly. “I’m not going to bite.”

  “I didn’t come here for that.”

  “Then what are you here for?” He looked at me curiously.

  “I have a proposition for you.”

  “A proposition?” He arched an eyebrow.
“The only proposition I’m interested in involves you and me in that bed, with my ring on your finger.” He nodded toward the closed door to his bedroom.

  I shook my head, willing away the image he’d planted. “Not happening today.”

  “Today? Does that mean it might happen later…” He sat up more.

  “Will you hear me out?”

  “Yes, sit back down. I promise I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

  I sat down. “You want to be king.” I wasn’t asking a question. I already knew the answer.

  He smiled. “Yes.”

  “The only way that is going to happen is through me, right?”

  He nodded. “Uh huh.”

  “If you help me, I’ll make sure you’re a king.”

  “What do you need help with? Although, I’d do nearly anything to get you as my mate…”

  “The Blackwells have my friend. I think they’re going to kill her if I don’t pick Toby.”

  “And Levi isn’t retrieving her?” Cade didn’t try to hide his surprise.

  “He says he needs to wait, but I can’t wait any longer. She’s innocent—she doesn’t deserve this.” Meeting Toby’s grandfather had been the proverbial nail in the coffin. I was done waiting around.

  “Let me get this straight. If I get your friend for you, you’ll make me king? What proof do I have that you’ll keep your word?” He looked torn. Like he wanted to trust me but couldn’t.

  “I’ll swear it in any way I have to.” I made myself look at him as I said it. He needed to know I was serious.

  “You’ll do a formal oath swearing that you will choose me to be your mate?”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  He sipped his wine. “You just said…”

  “I just said I’d make you a king.”

  “That’s the same thing.”

  “It’s not. Just trust me on this.”

  “I’ll need the usual witnesses, and of course some consideration.”

  “Consideration?” I set aside my wine. I had no idea what a sworn oath was, but I figured it was the only way he was going to agree.

  “To make it binding…just like a contract.”

  “You want money?”

  He smiled. “I’d take a kiss instead.”

  “How about my bracelet? It’s worth at least a few hundred.” I started to unlatch it.

  He put a hand on my wrist. “No, I’ll take a kiss.”

  “That isn’t on the table.”

  “You’re promising to make me king, which has to mean you’re my mate. Surely one little kiss won’t kill you?”

  “I’d rather wait.” I tried to make it sound coy, but I’m not sure it came out that way.

  He laughed. “Fine, I’ll take the bracelet. Let me call my father and my advisors.” If Cade wasn’t an heir, I’d be worried, but I was offering what he wanted on a silver platter—he had no reason to screw with me. Anyway, I had to be brave. Jess could be going through a lot worse.

  He pulled out his phone and explained the situation in a few words before hanging up. “They’ll be right up. Relax and enjoy your wine, you’ve barely touched it.” He leaned back against the couch, putting an arm behind me.

  I finally gave in and took a big swig of wine. “My life is insane.”

  He laughed. It wasn’t a mean laugh, it was light. “I’m sure it’s been an interesting few months.”

  “You could say that.”

  “Mind if I get some of that tension out of your shoulders?” He put a hand on my shoulder. “I hate seeing such a beautiful woman so uptight.”

  “You want to give me a back rub?”

  He grinned. “I’d prefer to give you a full body massage, but I’m guessing I’ll have to wait for that privilege.”

  “Privilege? Giving me a massage would be a privilege?”

  “Touching you in anyway would be. To think you’re holding back that kiss from me…it’s killing me.” He ran a finger over my lips. The intimate contact felt wrong in every way.

  “Yes, I’m depriving you of one of life’s greatest pleasures.”

  “You are.” His eyes widened. I could practically feel the lust rolling off him. “So what about that backrub?”

  “I think I’ll pass.” I resisted the urge to scoot away, that wouldn’t help my cause. It was far from over. I’d have to wait it out.

  He chuckled. “Were you this hard on Levi, too?”

  “Worse—a lot worse.” Even though I’d given in and kissed Levi early on, I’d made him wait all summer to sleep with me. If the Pteron lust thing was already in play, it must have been harder for him than I thought.

  “It’s going to be hard for him to let you go.” Cade’s expression softened slightly, the lust replaced by some level of sympathy.

  I didn’t say anything.

  “We’re going to have a great time together, you’ll see.”

  I mumbled a quasi-agreement just as a knock on the door had Cade off the couch. He opened the door and ushered his father and two guys around his age in. Watching them made me think of Levi with Jared and Owen. Those three were probably on the war path against me already.

  His father came right over, stopping in front of the couch. “You’re choosing Cade? You’ve agreed to give him the crown?”

  “I’ve agreed to make him a king if he can get my friend away from the Blackwells.”

  “Easy enough to do, but why not ask Levi to do it?” He looked at me skeptically. “There has to be a catch.”

  I stood up. I hated looking up at people when I talked. “Levi said to wait. I don’t think my friend has time.” I’d waited long enough.

  “You’re prepared to swear your oath?” Mr. Daley asked excitedly.

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  “What consideration are you each offering?”

  Cade answered for me. “She’s offering her bracelet.”

  I unlatched it. “Yes, I’ll offer this.”

  “And you?” Mr. Daly looked at Cade.

  Cade reached into the pocket of the jacket he had slung over the back of a chair, and he pulled out a rectangular jewelry box. “I’d love to give you my ring, but for now I have something else.”

  I closed my eyes for a second—this was all way too much.

  “You’ll get that ruby off soon enough, but for now you need an emerald.” He clasped a silver chain with a large emerald pendant around my neck.

  Mr. Daly beamed. “Beautiful.”

  “So what do I have to do?” I touched the necklace. It was beautiful, but it felt incredibly wrong wearing someone else’s stone. I already felt like part of the Laurent family.

  Cade’s father answered. “Swear in front of us of your intent.”

  “I swear that I’ll make Cade a king if you rescue Jess.” The words were easy enough to say, but I knew how significant they were. I hoped Levi would forgive me one day.

  Cade locked eyes with me. “Accepted.”

  “How do we do it? How do we get her?” I asked, wanting to get things moving already. I had no idea how much time I had left before Levi found me.

  “When do you want to do this?” Cade placed a hand on the back of the couch.

  “As soon as possible. Levi’s going to come looking for me, and if he finds me there’s no chance I’m getting away again.”

  “How’d you get away to begin with?” He examined the pendant he’d just put around my neck.

  “You don’t want to know.” I didn’t want to imagine what my next encounter with Levi would be like. Slipping out on Jared and another Pteron guard was bad, really bad.

  “I take it you want to come to New York with us?” Cade walked around the room, tossing things into a bag.

  “Of course.”

  “Well, there’s no way I’m leaving you in New Orleans anyway.”

  I nodded. “I understand that. I have a bag packed in my room upstairs. Could someone get it for me?”

  “Yes, but we’ll leave immediately.”

  “That’s
perfect.” I tried to make my words sound calm, but I was terrified.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The only time I’d flown with a Pteron other than Levi was when Jared saved me from the cougars. The thought of flying with Cade had my stomach in knots.

  “We can’t just walk out the front door. The Laurents have the place surrounded.” Cade hurriedly packed a few things. “Someone saw you enter, they’ll be up here if we don’t leave now.”

  I should have thought of that possibility. Even if I wasn’t spotted, Levi would have the hotel searched. Running from Levi was supposed to be behind me, yet here I was doing it again. “I know.”

  I waited as Cade fully unbuttoned his shirt and slipped it off his shoulders. He was as muscular as I expected. I hated my reaction. I hated that I was attracted to anyone else. I shook myself.

  “Glad to know you like what you see.” He laughed. “You’ll be seeing a lot more soon.”

  A shiver ran through me at his words, and I forced my eyes back up to his face.

  He stepped toward me, and put a hand under my chin. “Listen, my beautiful Allie, it’s going to be okay. You don’t have to go anywhere near Toby.”

  “Yes, I do. I need to be there.”

  “Stubborn. She’s perfect for you.” Cade’s father laughed. He was by far the nicest of the Pteron patriarchs I’d met. Still, I knew enough to realize he could be dangerous—very dangerous.

  One of the unnamed friends pushed aside the blinds. “You need to move, Cade.”

  “Let’s do this.”

  I waited for his wings to extend. I stepped back in surprise. “They’re blue and gray.” They were also a slightly different shape.

  “What?” Cade looked at me funny. “Did you think all Pterons were part crow? We’re peregrine falcons.”

  “Oh…I had no idea.” Wow, that was news. Yet another thing Levi hadn’t told me.

  Cade stepped toward me. “Levi’s kept you in the dark.”

  “I discover that more and more every day.”

  “I’m sure he has his reasons…” Cade moved behind me as I neared the balcony. “I’m sure you’ve done this before, but close your eyes if you get dizzy.”

  I nodded, sure he could feel the movement against his chest.