So there she was—standing outside a hotel, watching her sister circle overhead in a helicopter. Kat waltzed into the hotel as if she owned the place and took the elevator. When she got near the top, she changed over to the stairs and began climbing the rest of the way. Sweat trickled down her forehead, and she panted.
“You are so out of shape,” she chided, her voice reverberating off the walls. “Six tacos?Greatway to impress a guy. Not just any guy, but a Packmaster. Nadia gets a rooftop romance with porterhouse steak, and all you have to show him is questionable meat at a roadside stand. No wonder you’re still single.” Kat tried to swallow, but her throat was too dry from the heavy breathing.
When she reached the top, she opened the door to the roof, then stepped into a small room and approached the outside door, but it was locked. Some places did that to keep all the crazies from going up there and jumping to their death. But Kat knew how to pick a lock, so she knelt down and caught her breath while fiddling with the mechanism.
“Fly me to the moon,” she sang, continuing the lyrics until the door unlocked. She tucked her handy little tool back in its pouch and slowly eased the door open. “Please be true,” she whispered more than sang.
The door cracked open a few inches, and when Kat beheld the enchanting scene before her, she took a seat on the cold concrete. Despite the wind whipping the white tablecloth at the bottom, the candles remained lit inside their colored lanterns. Nadia looked like Aphrodite with her hair blowing in the breeze like ribbons of silk. Prince was doing most of the talking, which struck her as odd because he was always the quiet one around her.
“God, maybe Idohave a big mouth,” she remarked.
Kat looked on with a rueful heart, wondering if she’d made the right decision in letting them go without an objection. It wasn’t as if Prince would take her seriously since clearly the better half was currently sitting opposite him, but it didn’t eliminate the sting in knowing she hadn’t even put up a fight. Then again, what would her father have thought if she’d ruined her relationship with Nadia over the affections of a man?
She rested her head against the doorjamb when Prince reached across the table and held Nadia’s hand.
Kat was close to her father for the same reason her twin had been close with their mother. Nadia was like a little clone, and in some ways, she’d grown up to become just like their mother. As a little girl, Kat had envied the special affection that her mother had shown her sister, so she understood how Nadia must have felt regarding Kat’s close relationship with their father. Both sisters were dealt a bad hand when they lost both parents, but at least Nadia had managed to get her life into some semblance of normalcy.
Stars glittered above, moonlight illuminated the picturesque scene, and Nadia rose from her chair. It was almost too painful to watch as she rounded the table and stood before the alpha. Kat hadn’t known Prince very long, but being with him was easy and comfortable, like the jeans she had on.
When Nadia cupped his face and leaned down, Kat realized why they put locks on roof doors. She stared for a frozen moment and then looked away, an unfamiliar pain gripping her chest. Kat didn’t feel jealous; she felt wounded.
The kiss always sealed the deal. Men couldn’t resist Nadia once they got a taste.She must be a phenomenal kisser, Kat thought. Not that Kat lacked skills of her own, but she just hadn’t had as much practice.
After a moment, Kat glanced up, and her eyes widened in horror. A man approached the table—just a slithering shadow that appeared out of nowhere.
“Vlad.”
He must have used his Mage gift to jump from the nearby building.
Kat flung the door open, and it became one of those intense scenes that played out in slow motion in her head, like aDie Hardmovie. She moved like a torpedo, her feet pounding against the hard surface, her hands pulled into tight fists, energy rolling off her, the wind blowing her hair back. Nadia had leaned down to kiss Prince, both of them unaware that Vlad had eased up behind them, a malicious grin widening on his face as he sharpened his light.
Kat dove through the air and crashed on top of the table. As it toppled over, plates broke and silverware clattered against the concrete. When the table rolled slightly to the side, the tablecloth blew off into the night. She flipped onto her back and scanned the roof, but Vlad was nowhere to be seen.
Nadia and Prince stared down at her, aghast. A cherry tomato rolled by, and lettuce covered the entire scene like a produce massacre.
“You just couldn’t let me haveonenight,” Nadia said gruffly, hands on hips. “Why must you always ruin everything?”
Kat lifted the bottle of wine and handed it to Nadia. “At least the wine didn’t break?”
Prince rocked with laughter and covered his eyes, stopping his outburst before Nadia looked daggers at him.
When her sister didn’t take the bottle, Kat took a swig.
Vlad was messing with her head. She hoped like hell he didn’t know anything about Nadia being related to their father. If he somehow already knew that Alex had twin daughters, then maybe Nadia’s blond hair threw him off. But when Kat replayed the scene in her head, it seemed like Vlad had been going after Prince. He might have assumed Prince meant something to Kat, and after crashing his house earlier, it wouldn’t surprise her if Vlad was on the warpath for revenge. Maybe he found out she’d stolen sensitive information from his computer, or maybe he didn’t like the way she’d poured all his beer into the toilet.
“I think I’ve had enough excitement for one evening,” Nadia announced, wiping at a splash of red wine that had stained her short skirt.
“I won’t be able to get the chopper back for another hour,” Prince said, glancing at his naked wrist and then realizing he didn’t have on a watch. Just that nice body-hugging T-shirt that showed off his taut muscles.
Which made Kat take another swig before humming “Bad Moon Rising.”
Nadia offered her hand to Prince. “Let’s go.”
He stood up and looked down at Kat. “Do you think we should leave her in this condition?”
Well,thatwas embarrassing. Either Prince thought she was a lunatic or a drunk. Kat leaned back against the short wall along the edge of the building, soaking in the humiliation. Sure, she could have revealed why she’d taken down the table like a bridesmaid diving for a bouquet, but what were the odds of them believing her? Didn’t matter. As long as they went straight home, Kat was fine with being the delusional sister for the evening. Nadia’s apartment was safer than the roof of a building downtown. More than half her complex was Breed, so they usually kept an eye on things.
Prince sent a text message and turned to Nadia. “One of my men will escort you home. Your sister’s in no condition to operate a vehicle, so I’ll bring her back safely.”
