Badlands: The Lion's Den (8 page)

The two of them settled in at a table at the back of the room.

“So, I just got back in town and I hear you snagged the Hudson family’s most eligible bachelor. Are the rumors true?” Krystle demanded. “Are you two actually mated? Making the beast with two backs?”

“Mated, yes. Doing the thing you just said, no,” Flora said.

“Wait, what? Mated but not mating?” Krystle looked appalled. “What’s the point, then? Explain this to me.”

“My pathetic lack of a sex life isn’t the pressing issue right now,” Flora said impatiently. “You could be in real danger.”

“I live in Darwin, I travel through the Badlands for a living, and I’ve got a hair-trigger temper. I’m always in real danger. I’m more interested in your sex life. You guys just got mated. What went wrong?”

“We’re not really mated. He just said we were to keep the bears from Ruben’s territory from kidnapping me. They came to the club and said that I’d trespassed on their property and tried to take me with them. So he stood up and claimed me in front of everyone. He doesn’t want me as his mate.”

“Really?” Krystle looked at her skeptically. “Jose said that Finn is crazy about you.”

“He turned me down for sex,” Flora blurted out. “Because I’m a virgin.” Then she clapped her hand over her mouth. “I can’t believe I just said that,” she moaned. “Don’t tell anyone.”

“Not like I’m surprised,” Krystle said. “That you’re still a virgin, I mean.”

“Hey!” Flora crumpled up a napkin and threw it at her. “Ouch. Thanks a lot.”

“It’s not an insult, you just always struck me as a ‘holding out for the right guy’ kind of person.”

“Speaking of the right guy, what’s up with you and Jose?”

Krystle bit her lip and looked away. “I don’t know. We’ve been seeing each other for a few months, it started out casual, and now I’m not sure what he wants. No, I haven’t asked. I’m not great at dealing with relationships.”

“So you’d rather meddle in mine?”

“Absolutely,” Krystle said. “So here’s the deal with Finn. I don’t know much about his past, but I get the impression that when he was overseas in the military, he went through some stuff. Bad stuff.”

Flora sighed. “It’s just that he’s not even talking to me about what’s wrong. I feel like there’s this wall up between us. One minute he acts like he’s attracted to me, the next minute he’s barely speaking to me. And he didn’t want to…you know.”

“Screw?”

“
Krystle
,” Flora said, scandalized.

Krystle frowned in thought. “Okay, I’ve seen Finn go through a lot of women, and never the same woman twice,” she said.

“Not helping.”

“Hold on, I’m getting there. He never spent any time with those women – they just came and went. If you get my meaning. If he’s moving more slowly with you, it’s probably because he cares enough that he doesn’t want to rush it. Or you.”

“Am I being unreasonable?” Flora asked. “Am I just being a horrible…”

“Bitch?” Krystle suggested helpfully. “No, you aren’t capable of being a horrible bitch, even on your worst days. You need a little more bitch in you, frankly. But even in the few minutes I saw you two together just now, I can tell he’s crazy for you. I’ve never seen Finn look at anyone like that.”

Flora felt the knot inside her uncoil a little bit. She wanted to believe that Finn cared for her as much as she cared for him. “So what should I do?”

“Be a little patient,” Krystle advised her. “Finn’s worth it. Now tell me how you found me, and what brought you to the Badlands. You should have sent a message to me – I would have come to meet you at the border.”

“Unfortunately, I didn’t have time,” Flora said. “I was on the run. I called up your great aunt because I knew you stayed with her family sometimes in between foster homes, and she told me that they disowned you because you had gone to the Badlands and were working in, to quote her directly, a ‘pervert bar’.”

“I’m disowned?” Krystle exclaimed with delight. “Wow, the people who never gave a damn about me still don’t? I’m so excited!”

“You won’t be as excited when you hear what we’re up against.”

Flora quickly filled Krystle in on what had happened after Krystle had left: the scientists coming to her family’s house to do the blood tests, and then her being sent off to live with the Wilkinsons. Their attempts to push her into marrying Loren Haig. And then what she’d overheard between Loren and the man from TerraDyne.

“Did your family even try to stay in touch with you after you left?”

“For a couple of years I’d get cards at Christmas, and then even that stopped,” Flora said. “When I was nineteen years old, I ran away from the Wilkinsons’ farm and headed back to my family’s house. Only they weren’t living in a mobile home anymore – they were living in a huge McMansion and there were half a dozen fancy cars in the roundabout out front. I thought, oh, thank God, somehow they got money and now I can come home. But they looked totally horrified to see me. They told me I couldn’t stay, and they called up the Wilkinsons right away. The Wilkinsons came and got me, and that was when they really started stepping up their campaign to get me to marry that Loren guy.”

Krystle shook her head in disgust. “So your parents got some kind of payoff to ship you off to stay with those weird people in the middle of nowhere. And the TerraDyne people were obviously paying the Wilkinsons a fortune to keep you hidden away.”

“Not only that. If they thought they could get away with it, then somewhere out there, they’ve got a council member on their payroll,” Flora said. “And if they have a council member on their payroll, they’ll know that I came to the Badlands. That will be on record in the council’s database.”

“They won’t know where in the Badlands you are, though,” Krystle said. “The second you drive over the border, you cease to exist as far as they’re concerned.”

“I’m worried that they might come after you too, though. Have you started any fires since you’ve been here?” Flora asked. “Anything that could tip them off to your powers?”

Krystle glanced around to make sure no one was listening.

“Not a single one,” she said. “I don’t think I even have powers anymore.”

“I don’t understand. I’ve never heard of someone developing powers and then losing them.”

“They were always kind of random, even when I had them,” Krystle said. “Sometimes if I was scared, the powers would crop up. Sometimes they wouldn’t. I got in fights in school a lot, and it never happened.”

“So how many times exactly did it happen?”

“Let’s see. One time I was with my mom and some guy tried to mug us. His coat and his hair caught on fire. A couple of times it happened when my dad was beating up on my mom. The second time it happened, my dad’s fur caught on fire, and he ran out of the house and never came back. After that day in the field, though, it never happened again – and I’ve tried, believe me. There’s plenty of dirtbags around here who’d make a better barbecue than a person. Oh, stop,” she added at Flora’s scandalized look. “You know it’s true.”

“I still don’t understand why the scientists think I’m a Firestarter,” Flora said. “I don’t care what those blood tests showed. My brothers beat me up plenty when I was a kid, and nobody ever caught on fire.”

“You say that so casually,” Krystle said with dismay. “Nobody should ever get used to being treated like that. I don’t understand how you grew up to be such a decent person.”

“Well, I looked at how my family treated each other and everyone else, and I made it my mission to do the exact opposite.”

“I’d like to go back and give them a retroactive ass-whipping,” Krystle growled.

“Is that really a thing?” Flora wondered.

“I’ll make it a thing. Your family did you a favor sending you away. God, we come from some fucked-up people, don’t we?”

“Language,” Flora said primly.

“You sure you don’t want to dance?” the drunk lion shifter said to Flora as she wiped down a table.

“Yes, thank you anyway. I’m every bit as sure now as I was the first two times you asked me.”

He stood there for a minute, looking confused.

“Does that mean no?” he asked, swaying where he stood.

Flora turned to walk away. She felt someone slam into her right side, and a sharp elbow jabbed her in the ribs, hard.

“I saw you and that lion,” Jennifer hissed into her ear.

“You saw me turning him down?” Flora winced, stepping back as she rubbed her ribcage.

“You were all over him! In public! You don’t even deserve Finn.” Jennifer’s eyes blazed with fury. “How could you treat him with such disrespect?”

“No, I wasn’t. If Finn has a problem with me, he can tell me about it himself,” Flora said with exasperation. When was Jennifer going to give it a rest? This was getting ridiculous.

“Oh, he’ll have a problem once I tell him about how you’re slobbering all over some other guy,” Jennifer sneered. She stalked off.

“Jennifer, wait!” Flora called after her. “Why would you lie to him? That isn’t what happened.”

Had she just publicly disrespected Finn? She prayed she hadn’t. She’d spoken politely with the drunk lion who’d been hitting on her, but she hadn’t encouraged him in any way. A lot of the girls who worked here would have just slugged him when he wouldn’t take no for an answer, but Flora didn’t have it in her. She truly hated to hurt people.

A few minutes later, as she headed back to the bar to get more cleaning supplies, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

She turned to see Finn looking down at her with a serious expression on his face. Her heart sank.

He gestured for her to follow him, so she walked through the club and down the back hallway with him.

“Finn,” Flora said. “I was not slobbering on that lion. Jennifer is mistaken.”

“She wasn’t mistaken,” Finn said wearily, scrubbing at his face with his hands.

Flora felt her knees turn to water.

“She flat-out lied,” Finn said with deep regret. “I was watching you the whole time, and I saw exactly what happened. She came storming up to me and my brother. She told us you’d been making out with the lion shifter in front of everyone, and demanded that I fire you on the spot and ban you from the Badlands. So I fired her.”

“Because of me?” Flora said with dismay.

“No, because she openly lied to me, and because she attempted to give orders to Liam, who is our pride’s Rex. I should have done it sooner. I heard about how she’s been treating you, and I’m sorry.”

Flora shook her head in protest. “Finn, you should hire her back. I mean, we could just work on different days or something. I don’t want someone to lose their job over me.”

Finn gave her a sad, pained smile. “You’re too good for this place, Flora.”

“That must be why you keep trying to get rid of me,” she said.

He shook his head at that. “I swear I’m not trying to get rid of you.”

“It doesn’t feel like you want me to stay here,” Flora said. “I mean, sometimes it does, but then you immediately start throwing up this wall between us.”

“I don’t want you to leave. I’m just…I’m just trying to work through some things in my head,” Finn muttered, avoiding her gaze.

“Well, when you and your inner voices all come to a decision, let me know,” Flora said, with a flash of anger. “That’s assuming I’m still here.”

She turned and walked back into the club, letting the door slam shut behind her.

* * * * *

It was 7:55 a.m., and Flora had worked until two a.m. the night before. She yawned as she handed over three bags of Starweed and a bag of croissants to Madison. Sam immediately began rooting around in the bag of croissants. Sarah hadn’t come; apparently she wasn’t a morning person.

“Don’t touch them all with your grubby fingers,” Madison said with annoyance. “Pick one!” He crossed his eyes at her and pulled two out, and handed her one. “Finger cooties,” she complained, but took a bite anyway.

“You still didn’t think I would show up?” Flora suggested to Sam.

He shrugged. “Maybe,” he conceded, tearing a piece off a croissant. “Like fifty-fifty.”

“Whoa. We’re really making some progress in the trust department,” Flora said cheerfully. “When it gets to sixty-forty, I’m going to throw a party.”

“We’ve got enough Starweed now,” Madison said to Flora. “And things are getting really bad here. For some reason Ruben’s got his men out searching buildings and businesses. I don’t know what they’re looking for, and I don’t want to find out. Me and my friends have been holed up in a basement since the last time we saw you. We’re going to head out today.”

“If you wait until tomorrow morning, I’ll come with you,” Flora said. “My cousin is a guide who travels around the territory. She just came from Cottonwood. I can ask her to come with us when I see her tonight, or at least tell us the safest way to get there. But either way, I’ll meet you here at ten.”

“If you don’t show up, we’ll go without you,” Sam warned her.

“Oh ye of little faith,” Flora said. “I will be here.”

“By the way, I heard that one of the Hudsons’ employees came over to our side,” Madison said. “A girl named Jennifer.”

Flora felt a pang of guilt over that. She wished that there had been some way that she and Jennifer could have come to terms. If Jennifer was with Ruben now, she doubted the Hudsons would ever let her come back.

As she headed back towards the Hudsons’ territory, she found herself wondering why Krystle had been cagey about what she’d been doing in Cottonwood. Why hadn’t she been drinking any alcohol? Why was she acting all weird around Jose?

Was there something she wasn’t telling Flora?

Flora was a few blocks from the Lion’s Den when Finn came storming up.

“Were you near the bears’ territory?” he demanded. “Have you been fraternizing with the bears?”

Hurt and annoyance flared up inside her. She was trying so hard to be understanding, and she still felt as if Finn had erected the Great Wall of China between them. Every night, she slept alone in Finn’s bed, and he came in after she’d fallen asleep and left before she woke up. He wasn’t acting like a guy who was in a relationship, so what right did he have to ask where she was or what she was doing?

“What if I was?” she snapped.

“You already know that Ruben’s looking to start a fight with us!” Finn said furiously. “You are not to go there again. I absolutely forbid it!” His face went furry, and his words came out in a low, angry growl. “In fact, every time you want to leave the club, you need someone to go with you.”

She remembered the years of being forced to stay on the Wilkinsons’ farm. Always having people watching over her. How claustrophobic and trapped she’d felt.

“You cannot tell me where to go,” she said indignantly. “In fact, I’m going for a walk right now. By myself. You are not invited.”

He blocked her path challengingly. “You are not walking through this area without a bodyguard.”

Flora tossed her purse in the air and let the change flow over her, shifting and sinking to all fours. In one graceful motion, she caught the purse in her jaws before it hit the ground, and set off at a dead run. She was aware of Finn behind her, but she didn’t care. She was capable of running damn fast when she was angry.

She raced through the Hudsons’ territory towards the outskirts of the city, and then into the surrounding woods. Finn was behind her the whole way, but he never caught up.

She made it several miles at top speed before she finally got tired and slowed to a walk. Finn walked behind her, padding along on his giant paws.

They came to the mossy banks of a river, and she stopped and shifted into human form, kneeling by the crystal waters. She began scooping up water with her hands and drinking it.

Finn shifted too and walked towards her, but stopped about twenty feet away.

“Is this too close?” he called out to her.

“Yes!” she yelled back.

He took one step back. “How ’bout now?”

“New Jersey would be too close!” she yelled at him.

“Also, can I take a brief stalking break?” he called. “I’m getting tired.”

“Then go home!”

She stood there glaring at him, hands on her hips. He started making faces at her. Stuck out his tongue, crossed his eyes, put his thumbs in his ears and wiggled his fingers.

Finally she started laughing, and so did he. He walked up to her, and they both sat down on the soft, mossy bank. Finn drank some water and splashed some on his face.

“You can’t keep me prisoner, you know,” she chided him.

“Doesn’t it show that I care about you, if I’m trying to keep you safe?” he asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his arm.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “There are better ways to show me you care than ordering me around and telling me where I can go and what I can do,” she said coolly.

“Like what? I’m really no good at this. But I want to be.” He smiled winningly at her. “You make me want to be better at it.”

Damn it, it was hard to stay mad at the sexy beast when he turned all charming like that.

“You could try talking to me. Spending time with me. Letting me know what’s bothering you instead of keeping it bottled up and going all quiet and sulky.”

“That’s just crazy talk,” he said, but with a grin that made her feel warm and squishy inside.

“You understand that I’m just about ready to give up on us?” she said, but her tone was gentler now. “I mean, I don’t feel like there even
is
an us, at this point.”

His smile vanished. “Don’t do that. Please. I’m not ordering you to – I’m asking.” He hesitated. “Begging. I know I’ve been a moody dickhead, and I don’t deserve another chance, but I’m asking for it, for purely selfish reasons. I’m crazy about you. I’m doing a terrible job of showing it, but you are sexy, and funny, and you call me out on my crap when I need it, and you are the kindest person I know. Also, did I mention about the sexy?”

“It’s okay if you say it more than once.” She stifled a smile behind her hand.

“Sexy. Sexysexysexy. I will do better,” he added. “And I’m not trying to be a control freak when I ask you to stay away from Ruben’s territory, it’s just that I’m seriously worried for your safety. You’ve got this wonderful, sunny outlook on life, but sometimes it blinds you to the realities of what’s around you. Ruben and his people are killers.”

“I’ve made friends with a few of the bears,” she said. “And Ruben is making life in their territory a total hell. They’re going to head out to Cottonwood tomorrow, and I’m going to go with them.” She heard him suck in his breath sharply, and she met his gaze defiantly. “I’m going to ask Krystle to come with me, but even if she can’t, I’m going.”

“I can’t let you do that,” Finn said, shaking his head. “It’s too dangerous. No way.”

“There you go again, trying to tell me what to do.” She looked up at him. “Finn, I can’t just sit by while people are being abused. I was in a cruddy situation when I was a teenager, and I had no one to turn to, and it felt horrible. If my helping them out means that we can’t be together, then it will break my heart. I mean that. But I still have to help them.”

“Damn it, there you go again, being all noble. Making me fall for you even harder.” Finn shook his head in mock annoyance.

“I know, what a jerk I am, right?” She laughed.

He sighed and shook his head. “If you’re dead set on going, I’ll go with you. Krystle will probably come with us. There’s no way you’d make it there on your own.”

He slung an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned against him, her body tense.

“Relax,” he urged her. “I don’t bite. Okay, I do bite, but only if you say pretty please.”

“You want me to relax? Talk to me,” she said to him.

“What do you want me to say?”

“Anything. Tell me what’s been bothering you. Tell me what you really want for us.”

“That picture in my apartment,” Finn said. He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was thick with sorrow. “That was my squadron. I lost half of them. One of them was Jennifer’s older sister, Marybeth. Three years ago next month. She sacrificed herself for me, and that’s a burden I carry with me to this day. My failure to keep her safe.” He cleared his throat. “And now I’m afraid that I can’t keep you safe, and if anything happened to you, it would kill me. And here I’ve been acting like such an ass that you don’t even want to be near me, and that puts you in harm’s way. I’m so sorry.”

His big, warm hand closed around hers.

“Stay with me, Flora. Please. I need you.”

“Finn, I am so sorry. I wish I’d known. You can tell me anything, you know. And I do want to be near you. All the time.” She pulled his arms around her, closed her eyes and buried her face in his shoulder. “Just hold me,” she said.