Brielle had to admit, she found herself liking the attention more than she’d ever would have thought. She’d spent her whole life taking care of her brother, and it had left her little time for romance or anything even close to it. That a man like Caleb would look at her like she was the most precious thing on earth was more than nice. Even if she knew it couldn’t turn into anything. Why would a guy as amazing as he was ever want to get involved with her? When she wasn’t bailing her brother out of whatever problem he’d gotten himself into, she was trying to figure out how to have a normal life.
The pub Caleb led them into was nothing like what Brielle had imagined. The walk through the charming streets of Odessa had already shown her that the city was a lot more modern than she’d expected, with beautiful buildings and sidewalks illuminated by ornate streetlamps. But still, walking into the pub and seeing the long, polished bar that stretched the length of the interior along with a stage set up on one side and bright, exposed-bulb signs decorating the walls was surprising. This pub would have fit right in back home in Lyon.
Thankfully, it was the middle of the week and relatively late at night on top of that, so the place was almost empty. No band was playing on the small stage, and only a few people sat at the bar, chatting softly as they drank their beers.
Like she’d told Caleb, forgetting about her brother for a while was the entire reason she’d agreed to come out with him tonight in the first place. She needed somewhere she could hang out and unwind for a little while. If that included something delicious to eat and maybe a drink or two, even better. She wanted to do anything but think about the fact that they hadn’t found Julian yet. This looked like the perfect place to do that.
The blond waitress who met them at the door pegged Caleb and his teammates for Americans right away, welcoming them to the city, adding that they got a lot of tourists there.
“Are you here for food or just some drinks?” she asked.
When Caleb said they were there for dinner, the woman took them to one of the larger tables in the back of the pub, though her eyes widened at the amount of food they ordered.
“Ten large pizzas for the five of you?” she asked. “And five more for takeout?”
Brielle almost laughed at the expression on the woman’s face. She’d been with Caleb and his team for a few days, so she’d already seen how much they ate, and she was still amazed at how much food he and the other werewolves could eat at one time.
After the waitress gave the order to the kitchen, she brought beer for Caleb and the other guys as well as wine for her and Harley. The moment she walked away, the conversation immediately centered on the briefing from earlier.
“Do you really think someone is trying to start a war?” Sawyer asked, looking around the table at the rest of them. “I mean, what else could whoever is responsible for this expect after taking out a North Korean missile and a Chinese submarine?”
Brielle didn’t know much about geopolitics, but it wasn’t that difficult to figure out that firing a huge laser at two extremely aggressive militaristic neighbors was a great way to start a war, which made her wonder why Russia would do it. Was anyone that suicidal?
They were still talking about who might be behind it and the ramifications when their pizzas showed up. Brielle was surprised when Caleb, Harley, and Hudson admitted their own country could be behind it as much as anyone else’s, essentially “stealing” their own nukes and making it look like someone else had done it. That seemed crazy to Brielle. Sawyer, on the other hand, insisted that the UK would never do anything so despicable, which made Harley laugh so hard she nearly choked on her food.
The conversation lightened considerably after that, and Brielle found herself laughing along with everyone else. She couldn’t remember when she’d had this much fun. Friends were yet another thing she’d been forced to do without in her screwed-up version of a life.
“Can I ask you something, Brielle?” Hudson asked in between bites of cheese pizza, interrupting Sawyer’s bizarre rant about the difference between British and American bacon.
She nodded and sipped her wine.
“How were you able to slip inside the computer to get Misty out?” he asked. “I have to admit that I barely understand how Misty was able to go in there herself, but from what Forrest told me, her technopath talent is unique. It’s kind of incredible that you just happen to be able to do the same thing.”
Brielle set down her glass, not sure how to explain it. “Um…”
Beside her, Caleb glowered at Hudson across the table. “Jake made it clear you’d have to wait until everyone else on the team trusted you enough to tell you their secrets.”
To his credit, Hudson returned Caleb’s look with a glare of his own. “I didn’t realize Brielle was on the team. When did that happen?”
“The moment she saved Misty and the rest of us down in those tunnels,” Caleb snarled, and Brielle was shocked to see his eyes glowing ever so slightly blue. “So you need to back off. Now.”
Brielle reached out to gently place her hand on Caleb’s arm where it rested on the table between them. “Calm down,” she said, glancing around the pub to make sure no one had picked up on the sudden tension at their table. “I don’t mind that Hudson asked. For better or worse, I knew everything would come out the second I decided to use my ability to help Misty. I might as well tell you now, since there’s no reason to keep trying to hide it.”
Caleb gazed at her for a moment, then looked at Hudson, blue flaring brightly in his eyes for a split second before they returned to their normal color. “If you spread a word of what she tells you to anyone, I will frigging end you. Got it?”
Brielle squeezed Caleb’s forearm, giving him a smile when he glanced at her. “Caleb, it’s okay. I’m good.”
She held his gaze until the tension in his body relaxed a bit. Not completely, of course, because she got the impression he was never completely chill. She’d realized that within minutes of first meeting him weeks ago. He’d always be a live wire, a dangerous man poised to cause damage.
When Brielle was sure Caleb was as in control as he was likely ever going to be, she turned and looked at Hudson to see him sitting there waiting as patiently as Harley and Sawyer for her answer.
“Technically, I don’t have the same ability as Misty,” she said. “Or any special abilities at all.”
“I think Misty would beg to differ,” Sawyer said with a smile after taking a long sip of his beer. “She’d be dead right now if it weren’t for you. Hell, so would the rest of us.”
Brielle picked up the slice of cheese pizza from her plate and took a bite, chewing slowly. It was loaded with mozzarella, and the tomato sauce had a touch of sweetness to it, just the way she liked it. “I didn’t mean it that way. I meant that I don’t have any special abilities of my own. I could only help Misty because my gift let meborrowher abilities. That’s how my thing works. I can sense the abilities that a person possesses, and once I touch them, I absorb their knowledge and skills, and for a period of time, I can do what they do.”
Beside her, Caleb seemed as surprised by that as everyone else.
