Annie Nicholas - The Beta

“No.” He sighed. “But I’ll make sure nothing bad happens to you, okay?”

The sound of shuffling came through the wood as if she drew closer. “Why? I’ve been nothing but terrible to you.”

He laughed, but there was no mirth to it. “I know. I guess I can’t help being a schmuck.”

“Are you going to let me out?”

“Not yet. I’ve got something to do first.”

Stars blanketed the night sky outside of Rob’s bathroom window. Esther kept the light off so she’d see them better. There were worse places to be imprisoned. She had water, a toilet, and if she got bored she’d take a hot bath.

Cool air blew against her face through the open window, hinting that fall was on the way. The chill soothed the ache around her neck where Daedalus had tried to strangle her. It wouldn’t take much effort to pop the screen out and climb the rainspout to the ground. Not much effort at all.

She tapped her fingernail on the sill as she considered the possibility. If she left that meant never seeing Rob again and never was a really long time. The thought left an empty pit in her stomach. Since when did she let her heart rule her life?

Her turning point was the moment Rob melted from his beast form to human as he pinned her to the car. Hunting her down and outthinking her had changed her perspective of him from some cute geek to someone she respected. And wanted. Bad.

Damn, he could have taken her against the car or in the alley at the club, but he always needed to be a gentleman and be dutiful to his pack. Let’s not forget the fucking vampire.

How did Rob get mixed up with the Nosferatu? He said she only saw the surface of things. Maybe she did, but she couldn’t learn to see more from in here. What was Daedalus telling him? He probably wanted to kill her. That’s how things rolled between their kinds.

She should have run the moment the arrow struck Rob. Just the memory made her nauseous. He’d come so close to dying. The world would have been worse off without Rob in it. God, she loved everything about him.

Leaning her forehead on the window, she closed her eyes. She recalled the first time they’d met and how shy he’d been, acting as her protector. Silent and strong, he bore his responsibilities with such seriousness.

She banged her head on the glass and listened to the rattle. Now or never. Choose a life filled with what-ifs or take a fucking leap of faith on a werewolf who should hate her.

His possible rejection kept her at the edge of escaping. Her fingers traced the screen. Ah shit, if he broke her heart she’d just gut him.

The sound of a chair scraping against wood outside the bathroom drew her from her debate. As the door swung open, Rob stood in a halo of light cast from his bedroom lamp. “I need your help.”

“And if I don’t give it?” She turned from the window and faced him. The desire to help and the fear of being vulnerable twisted her stomach to the point she thought she might vomit right there in front of him.

He shrugged. “Then I close the door.”

A shiver ran down her spine. The step she took toward him appeared normal but, in her reality, it was the hardest thing she’d ever done. After all her lies she needed to prove her sincerity somehow. “I’ll help.” Her voice sounded strained even to her own ears.

“Are you okay?”

“I…I…” Want to tell you how sorry I am. “I’m fine. What do you need?” She’d apologized enough.

He gestured for her to follow him. They left his sparsely decorated bedroom and crossed the hall to an office. A long table-like desk lined the wall with two computers side by side with wires running along the edges. On the closest screen was her email sign-in.

“Your account is pretty secure.” Rob sat at the desk and offered her the chair next to him. “I could break in, but that would take time. I want you to sign-in.”

“Why?”

He quirked an eyebrow. “Don’t play coy. It doesn’t suit you.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. His comment stung. “You won’t be able to trace the emails from this account. They come from a third party.”

“Let me try.”

She sighed. It was a test and one she needed to pass. Not for Rob but for herself. If she was going to give herself to him, she would go all the way.

“Fine.” After typing her ID and password what remained of her resolve faded. She’d been bribed and hunted in the past for information about her contacts and never gave anything over. Apparently, kindness and trust were her Achilles heels. Not like she was giving him her contacts or anything. All he could do was read the emails, even replying didn’t work.

Rob opened the email offering her twice the usual fee to kill Daedalus. He switched programs and began transferring codes. The computer ran through numbers with a counter at the bottom.

He twisted in his chair to face her. “I designed this myself. It’s not your run-of-the-mill tracer.” He grinned at her pointed stare. “I like computers. The numbers and codes make sense to me. Everything is black and white, there’s no gray area like people seem to have.” His direct stare bothered her.

Not knowing where to look, she glanced at a collection of encased Star Trek figures on a shelf. She smiled. “My mother was a Whovian.”

“What?”

“Dr. Who. When I was young I was allowed to stay up until one AM on Saturday nights to watch it with her on PBS.” She cleared her throat. “I still like to watch it. You?”

“I’ve seen it, but I’m not much of a fan.”

“Really? Are his concepts too advanced for you?” She leaned forward and grinned as his eyes narrowed at her challenge.

“The show jumps through time, rotates characters and actors, and they interact with historical figures. You have a ship disguised as a phone box, a sonic screwdriver, and a hero who can’t die. The rules of reality don’t apply to Dr. Who. Where Star Trek is a known quantity. It’s set in the future. You have the laws of physics, the crew, and Star Fleet. They visit planets and solve problems in an hour. It’s linear. There really is no comparison.” A satisfied smile crossed his face. “Most of the technology and gadgets we enjoy today were first seen in some form on those early Trek episodes. Cellphones, iTouch, PDAs. Not so much for Dr. Who. The technology of the TARDIS falls into ‘science so advanced it is indistinguishable from magic’ area.” He chuckled and a blush covered his cheeks. “Is my geek showing?”

She laughed and threw back her head, wincing at the sharp pain from the bruises around her neck.

Leaning toward her, he tilted her chin to the ceiling. “Let me take a look at that in better lighting.” He took her hand and guided her to his bedroom.

For a lack of a chair, she sat on the edge of his bed while he went into the bathroom.

He returned with a cool wet cloth and knelt in front of her.

The cold soothed the ache of her ligation marks. “Of course, the only real sci-fi show worth watching is Babylon Five .” Her comment brought him up short.

“You’re full of surprises. I love that show too, but don’t tell my housemates. They’ll start calling me a traitor.”

She laughed again, and it made her feel free. Nothing about being with Rob was forced. Being with him made her act like, well, herself. Maybe that’s what attracted her to him the most. He made her real. She’d been acting most of her adult life and almost forgot who Esther was.

“You have a wonderful laugh.” He smiled at her as he stood and rolled his shoulders as if working out some knots. “The computer program will take a few hours to run. We should get some sleep.”