Fate’s Reaping

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

New York.

It seemed different, somehow. Larger. Crowded. Exhausting.

And it no longer seems like home.

True, Charming wasn’t her home, either. Not exactly, and maybe it never would be. But she knew, at that moment in her life, that’s where she belonged.

Standing at the window of her sixth floor studio apartment, Angie Campbell smiled and watched the sun go down. It was bittersweet; it would be the last sunset she would witness from her apartment.

But it means a new beginning. A new chapter in my life.

She’d been gone from Charming for almost two weeks and her heart ached to go back. She missed her sheriff – more than she would have expected. In the short time they’d been together, they’d already grown closer than she would have thought possible. There was something about Marcus Stone, something she’d never had with anyone before.

And she was ready to go back. Back to him.

Angie had spent the last two weeks moving at a million miles a minute. She was ready to get back to Charming and enjoy the slow pace of life. She’d arranged Erica’s funeral, set up a bank account for her niece, and made sure her family would be well taken care of. She’d sold her apartment, packed up what she wanted to take to Charming and donated the rest, and even ended her lease on her office.

I’m leaving. For good, this time.

Truthfully, over the years, she’d spent little time in New York. Most of her time had been devoted to doing her job – trying to revitalize old neighborhoods, and she didn’t spend much time doing that in New York.

No, she didn’t think she would miss New York City. She wouldn’t miss the bustle, the hustle, the stress, and never feeling like she could slow down. Life was different in Charming, even if she was still working and trying to make it a better place to live.

What happens when I’m finished, though? Will I leave, move on to the next job? Work out of Charming, or will I go somewhere else?

I have the money. That much was true. She wasn’t rich by any means, but she was extremely well off. She wouldn’t be able to stop work altogether and retire at that very instant – but she was well on her way. Another few years of hard work would pay off. But I still have to get there, and to get there, I still have to work.

In a surprising twist of events, her contract with the city of Charming was still going through. She’d expected that it would fall apart with the death of the Mayor – after all, it was his idea – but the contract had been with the city itself and she was still working on a plan to make Charming a better place to live.

After the murders and the death of the Mayor, though, she wasn’t sure if it would survive a hit to its reputation.

I’ll do my best. I know I can turn things around. It’s my job, after all.

She sat down at the table and grabbed her glass of wine, taking a small sip. Her mind was wandering, and it was going to the only place it ever did: Marcus.

He was something else entirely. Kind, strong, and a Shifter. She found that out of all of the things she’d learned about him, that was what she least cared about. She’d ran into all sorts of people doing her job, so what made Marcus any different?

Maybe the fact that he can turn into a bear?

She’d fallen for Marcus – at least a little bit, even if she wouldn’t admit it to herself – before she’d even found out that he was a Shifter. He’d explained it to her, and she thought it was something she could swallow. He wasn’t that different, and in a little place like Charming, life didn’t change that much when she found out he could shift.

I want to see him again. The first thing I’m going to do when I see him is jump into his arms, tell him to take me to the bedroom, and…

There was a knock at her door and Angie jumped. Her face was blushing from her dirty thoughts, her mind coming back into focus, and she wondered who could be at her door. She hadn’t been trying to keep a low profile since she’d been back but she hadn’t also gone out and met with many people, either. She took another sip of her wine and crossed the room, setting the glass down on the counter-top.

She peered through the keyhole and her heart plummeted, yet she opened the door just the same. The man standing outside of her door was handsome in a proper way – he wore a perfectly fitted pair of slacks and a blazer, his hair and beard perfectly manicured and trimmed. He was a man who knew he looked good, and there would be no telling him otherwise.

“I’d heard you were back in town, Ange,” he said. His words came out of his mouth like silk. It had once charmed her, now, it churned her stomach and it took everything she could muster not to slam the door in her face.

“You missed the funeral,” she said shortly.

“Ah,” he said, giving an obviously practiced half smile. “It couldn’t be helped, I’m afraid. May I come in?”

In response, she stepped to the side and ushered him into the room.

Jonathan Hall was a total ladies’ man. He was rich, well groomed, and well loved by nearly anyone who met him. Angie shot laser beams at his back, embarrassed to admit that she, too, had fallen for his charms when she was younger and just starting her business.

He’d come to her, then, and offered to help her expand. She’d agreed, completely wooed by him. She’d thought he was the one. That is, until she found her was pursuing other women behind her back.

She’d severed the relationship immediately, never looking back. Unfortunately, they often ran in the same social and professional circles, and it was impossible to ignore him. She’d never forgiven him, and never would, and she disliked the man – but she could never seem to keep him away.

And, truth be told, she didn’t want to. Jonathan Hall was a protégé at what he did. He was a gifted real estate developer and somehow always had all of the information Angie needed to make a successful revitalization.

While Mayor Copeland had personally reached out to Angie to help with Charming, he’d first been in contact with Jonathan, who had then recommended Copeland talk to Angie. In a way, the only reason everything in Charming had happened was because of him. She didn’t know whether to thank or damn him.

He was already going to her cabinet and grabbing a glass for the wine. Without even asking, he poured himself a glass, drank deep, and then refilled his glass.

“What do you want, Jon?” she asked. She crossed her arms and stood close to the door, ready to usher him out when she found out what he truly wanted. She couldn’t even begin to count the amount of times he’d tried to win her back. She desperately hoped that now wasn’t one of those times.

“I’m sorry about what happened in Charmon.”

“Charming,” she corrected.

“Yes,” he nodded, as if he hadn’t even heard her. “That’s all my fault, I fear. I should never have put you in contact with that man. If I would have known…”

“It’s fine, Jon, really,” she said, exasperated. She didn’t blame him. She’d gone to Charming on her own free will, and if she hadn’t – well, she never would have almost died. Erica would still be alive.

But I never would have met Marcus, and how could I live my life without him?

“I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself, Ange,” he said, setting the glass down and looking serious for once. “When I heard what had happened, I almost flew out there myself.” She knew he was lying. He would say anything to get on her good side. “And when I heard you’d also been shot, well, my heart just broke.”

“Thanks for the concern,” she told him, her voice flat. “So, did you come all of this way just to apologize?”

He looked flustered for a moment but quickly recovered. “Not at all, my dear.” She gritted her teeth. She hated when he called her Ange. She hated dear. She hated anything he called her. “But I heard you were quitting your business. I couldn’t let you do that.”

“Well, no need to worry, then. I’m not quitting. Just relocating.”

He raised an eyebrow and asked, “To where? You can’t… You can’t mean you’re going back to that town?”

“I am,” she told him, smiling at the thought of meeting Marcus. He wouldn’t be able to meet her at the airport, and she knew the drive from Phoenix to Charming would be rife with anticipation – but knowing that he would be there waiting at the end of it was enough to see her through.

“But why?”

“That’s where I’m doing business.”

“You can certainly do business from here. There’s no need to risk yourself. What if you were hurt again?”

“I won’t be.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I’m…” she said, hesitating. Her personal life wasn’t any of Jon’s business and she certainly didn’t think he needed to know, but she said, “I’m seeing someone now.” She hoped it would be enough to see Jon to the door.

But he just narrowed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe it. “Someone from… that place?”

“Yes,” she confirmed.

He didn’t answer.

“Is there anything else?” she prompted.

He looked angry for a split second. Jonathan Hall had been the last man she would dated, but that had been years and years ago. She wasn’t his.

She’d never been his.

“I need a partner,” he said.

“A partner?”

“In my firm,” he explained. “I’m expanding the business. And I need a partner. There’s no one else in the world I trust more than you. I need you.”

Angie hesitated a moment. Years ago, when she’d been under Jon’s spell – working with him was all she’d ever wanted to do. The deals he’d closed, the people he’d helped…

The idea of it had been intoxicating.

“I can’t, Jon,” she told him. “I’m going back home to Charming.”

“Home?”

She hadn’t even realized she’d said it. But she nodded just the same.

“Angie,” he whispered. She immediately focused on him. His tone was one she’d hardly ever heard, only used when he needed to get his way, and he’d called her Angie, something he never did. “Remember when you were first starting out? Growing your business?”

“Yes,” she said curtly. She remembered all too well. She remembered the help he’d given her and the consequences that it had brought along with it.

“You wouldn’t want how you got started to become public knowledge, would you?”

“You were involved in that. Just like me. If you try to hang me out to dry, I’ll take you down with me. You know that as well as I do.”

“You would never dare, darling.”

“Don’t push me, Jon,” she hissed. “And now, I want you to leave my apartment.”

He smoothed his blazer and nodded. “Consider my offer, Ange.”

She walked to the door, opened it, and watched him leave. He smiled at her as he did so, unfazed completely. “I’ll be in touch,” he said, smiling. And then she slammed the door behind him.

She’d made a mistake working for Jonathan Hall when she’d been younger. She’d made a mistake being with him. But she never would make those mistakes again.