“I’m sorry. That must be rough.”
“It’s kind of a relief. I don’t have to pretend to give a damn about what he wants anymore. As I said, he’s an asshole. He and my mother just moved to a new location. That’s the only down side. I love and miss her. She’s stuck with him.”
“I’m not really sure what that means.”
“They are linked on a very intimate level for life. She can see good in him where others can’t. She would have a near impossible time cutting those bonds, even though he’s massively flawed.”
“Is he good to her?”
“He usually is. I give him credit for that but he’s lacking a lot when it comes to being a father or a decent person as a whole.”
“Are you close to your brother? I always wanted a sibling. I imagined it would be terrific.”
“Lorn is my best friend. We never fought like most brothers do. I guess you could say we bonded so close since we had to support each other against our father. Dad was tough on us growing up. He’s got this strong belief that weakness of any kind is a flaw.”
“He does sound like an asshole.” She bit her lip. “Was he abusive?”
“He was harsher than most parents.”
She’d take that for a yes. It horrified her. “I’m so sorry.”
“We’re very loving as a people but my father lacked that trait when it came to his sons. It wasn’t as bad as you might imagine, but he treated us as if we were adults instead of children. His expectations were too high for our ages. Most of our men start their training at around ten years old. He had us sparring by the time we could walk.”
“Sparring?”
“Fighting.”
That stunned her.
“I’m not like you, Jadee. You’ve seen me shifted. We need to learn discipline and how to protect ourselves at a younger age than your children do. We don’t play in a safe environment as youths. Our backyard comes with predators.”
“Discipline?”
“Can you remember when you were about ten years old?”
She nodded. “Sure.”
“Ever fight with another child over something trivial?”
“Of course.”
“Now imagine if you’d had the ability to claw or bite into another child, and the kind of damage you could do, not really meaning to, in a fit of anger. Our children can’t fully shift until they hit puberty but we get some of our abilities earlier than that. Like extending our claws and fangs. We need to learn young to control our tempers and think before we act.”
She looked down at his hand. “Can you show me?”
He twisted his wrist until his palm was face up but didn’t do anything else.
She peered into his eyes. “The cut is gone. That was the hand you sliced open last night, wasn’t it?”
“I heal fast. Jadee…I don’t want to frighten you.”
“You won’t. I asked. Can I see your claws? I mean, can you do that?”
“Watch.”
She focused on his hand again. He moved it a few inches from hers and curled his fingers upward. His fingernails began to grow. They got longer, until they were about an inch in length. It amazed her. They had sharp-looking tips and were thick.
“You can touch them if you want but don’t cut yourself.”
She hesitantly used her fingertip to feel the side of one nail. It was smooth, almost like bone. She smiled and looked up at him. “Very cool.”
He smiled and retracted them. “Thank you.”
“What else can you do besides grow claws, fangs, and get your neon eyes on?”
He had a great laugh. She liked hearing it when he chuckled. “I shift. You saw that already.”
“Does it hurt when you do?”
“It’s painful at first but over time, it’s just what it is. It happens faster and you become accustomed to the shape of your body changing without discomfort.”
“Do you ever accidently shift? Like if you’re having a bad dream and then boom, you wake up with a tail?”
He laughed again. “I did that a few times when I first started shifting but then you learn to control it better. There are no accidental transformations now.”
She grew serious. “Thank you for saving me.”
He reached over and gently took her hand in his. “You’re welcome.” He let her go. “You should try to get some sleep. You probably aren’t used to staying up all night. I need to go out there and help with cleanup. Promise me that you won’t go outside. Stay inside where you’re safe. I’ll come back later and we’ll figure out what’s wrong with the vehicle to get you on your way home.”
“My father’s team said they thought the Vampires had torn out the oil pan.”
“That won’t be too difficult to fix.”
“Is your pack going to want to hurt me?”
“I won’t allow it to happen, Jadee. Lorn does owe me a debt. He won’t let me down. We are very close and he’ll know how important this is to me.”
“Thank you. I realize it would be so much easier to kill me, rather than risk your ass.”
“I think the world would be a much less interesting place without you in it.”
The way he looked at her in that moment left her reeling a little. She worked in bars. It was obvious when a man was interested in her—and that intense stare of his indicated he saw her as a woman he wanted.
He suddenly slid out of his seat. “I have to get to work. Sleep. I’ll be back later.”
“Thanks again. There’s plenty of food if you get hungry so help yourself.”
“I appreciate that.” He left fast, closing the door firmly behind him.
Jadee sighed. It figured that she’d finally found a guy she was interested in and he wasn’t a type she could get involved with. He sometimes had a tail, claws, and he turned into some scary beast-looking thing when he shifted. His pack was also anti-human. Life just wasn’t fair.
* * * * *
Lavos located two of the cars in a ravine and managed to push them into the river before assistance arrived. Lorn found him first. His brother strode toward him quickly with a grim expression.
“Kar filled me in. Where is the human?”
“Sleeping inside the motor home. It’s about a mile to the south.”
“She’s a risk. Kar said she’s immune to you. Let me try to wipe her mind.”
Lorn was stronger than him. He debated it. His brother wouldn’t hurt Jadee…but did he want her to forget all about him?
The answer came fast. “No. Leave her be.”
“It’s too dangerous. She knows too much. Kar told me everything, Lavos—including the fact that you seem to be attracted to her. He thinks your reasoning is compromised.”
He felt a little betrayed that Kar had shared that with his brother, but Lorn was their clan leader. Part of Kar’s job was being honest. He couldn’t fault him for that. “She knows enough to keep herself safe when she returns to her normal life.”
“Damn it, Lavos. What are you thinking?”
“She’s different, Lorn. Special. I trust her.”
“I don’t.”
“You owe me.” His temper flared. “I helped you protect Kira.”
“She was raised with us and I love her. This human is irrelevant when it comes to safeguarding our people.”
Lavos stepped closer. “Don’t do this. Don’t be like him. You’re channeling our father. You don’t know Jadee. She’s brave and smart.” He reached up and almost ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, then saw how dirty they’d become. He brushed his palm over the sweatpants he’d borrowed instead. “I like her, Lorn. Yes, I am attracted to her, but I’m not planning on trying to take her to bed. It can’t work out. I just want to see her go free. She’s got spirit and spunk. You’d like her too if you got to know her. She reminds me of Kira.”
“Damn.” Lorn’s expression softened. “That’s low, comparing this human to my mate.”
“But effective.” Lavos relaxed.
Worry creased Lorn??
?s features. “Is she…you know?”
He masked his features to hide his emotions. “My mate? I’m not testing her blood to see. I won’t even kiss her.”
“It’s just that—”
Lavos cut him off. “I already know. Let me save you the trouble. I’m not Veso. He’d already made enemies as soon as they realized he wasn’t loyal to Decker, so him taking a human mate wasn’t much worse in the clan’s eyes. He’s also antisocial. I’m your lead enforcer. Having a human mate would stir the shit with the clan in a massive way because they’d have to deal with her all the time. I doubt Veso will even allow Glen out of his cabin unless he’s ordered by you to bring her in.”
“Our people need more time. I’m balancing a fine line of trying to ease them into a new way of living but I don’t want to break their minds in the process.”
“You’re a good leader, Lorn. You’re thinking about your clan. Don’t look so torn up. I just like her. I do have to tell you that she thinks we’re Werewolves. I didn’t correct her.”
“Do you honestly believe she won’t reveal anything?”
“She’s not going to tell anyone what happened. She’s seen too much. That’s why I’m so certain I can trust her. She never wants to cross paths with anything nonhuman again. It will help keep her safe if anything ever goes after her. I want her to live, damn it.”
“Fine. I’m surprised you didn’t hustle her out of here before we arrived.”
“I tried. She came to visit her father in a rental but it was in a wreck when that last soldier attacked. Can you have Digger come out here to get the motor home up and running? There’s oil all over the ground under it. It looks as if the soldiers tore open the oil pan and probably fucked up some wiring. She can drive that home.”
“Sure.”
“Thank you.”
Lorn glanced around. “What a mess. Kar said the master wasn’t found.”
“He already fled. We have a description of him though.”
“I’m going to have to assign some enforcers to track him down. He’s long gone from this area if he’s intelligent and not totally insane.”
“I agree. You could send me.”
Lorn scowled. “No.”
“You don’t think I can handle one moron? I’ve been out in the human world before.”
“I think it would give you an excuse to spend more time with this human you’ve grown an attachment to. I’ll call a council meeting between the clans to give them an amended version of what happened and they can decide who to send after this son of a bitch, to make certain it never happens again. It affects us all.”
“Don’t tell them the truth about Jadee.”
“Like I’m a moron.” Lorn snorted. “That’s why I said amended. They might assign someone to go silence her for good if I told them everything.”
“I knew I could count on you.”
“You knew comparing her to Kira would work.”
“Guilty.”
“Are you sure you can trust her?”
Lavos didn’t have to think about it. “Stop worrying so much. Yes.”
“Fine. I’m going to want to meet her though, and I’ll tell everyone that I was able to wipe her mind. Kar might slip up at some point. He’s got a mouth on him when he wants to impress women. This way our bases are covered. She’ll be safe from reprisals.”
“Thank you—but don’t mess with her head.”
“I give you my word.”
“I appreciate it.”
Lorn glanced around again. “What a damn headache. We have the death toll at almost three dozen in all. I brought ten of our clan with me and we located a few cars that they probably lured into pulling off the highway to attack the drivers.”
“Son of a bitch.”
“I know. We’re still looking.” Lorn withdrew his satellite phone when it rang, answering it. “Yes?” He paused, listening. “Great. Clean it up.” He ended the call. “They just found another car with a body. It happened about two days ago. At least they didn’t leave the vehicles within sight of the road.”
“Damn.”
“I think this master is trying to start a war by leaving this mess on our doorstep. It’s as if he’s trying to push the blame on us for these murders. The idiot. If the humans discover what we are, they’ll be hunting Vampires next.”
“Jadee is the least of our worries.”
“I hope so.” Lorn glanced down at his phone. “I’ll call Digger. He can fix anything on four wheels. Take me to your human and we’ll keep her out of sight when Digger arrives, or tell her to pretend to be under my control. He tends to gossip. The last thing I need is anyone doubting my leadership. She’d better be worth this, bro.”
“She is.”
Lorn didn’t look convinced but Lavos had no doubts. Jadee was innocent and needed to be protected. He couldn’t stand the thought of any harm coming to her. He wanted her to live. Even if that meant never seeing her again.
Chapter Nine
Thirteen days later
Jadee hated Friday evenings. The bar was packed with drunken idiots and their favorite sports team had lost. It meant a bunch of unhappy customers with little to no common sense. She swept the last of the broken glass into a dustpan. One guy had decided to smash his drink in frustration. It probably wouldn’t be the only time she had to clean up a mess before her shift ended.
She straightened and caught Bob’s eye. He was her backup behind the bar. “I’m taking out the trash.”
“I can do it.”
“I want to get a little fresh air,” she admitted. “I’m getting a headache.”
“Go ahead. Take five. I’ll handle this.”
“Thanks.”
She removed the plastic bag and replaced it with a new one, then lifted the trash. The back door beckoned. She picked up the pace and exited, happier the second the door closed. The noise from inside could no longer be heard. She had to cross the alley to reach the Dumpster, and the narrow lane was blocked off at both ends every evening so she didn’t bother to pause to check for cars. There wouldn’t be any. Deliveries were only made in the mornings. The two big gates also kept the homeless from ransacking their Dumpsters and sleeping behind the bar and the stores attached to each side of it. It meant she was safe from anyone bothering her.
Jadee threw the bag inside and dropped the lid. She looked up. It was a full moon. “All the crazies are out. No wonder,” she muttered, thinking about her customers. They were an unusually rowdy bunch.
She strolled slowly toward the back door, in no hurry to enter. Her threshold of dealing with bullshit had to be at an all-time low. One customer had already tried to lean across the bar in a sad attempt to kiss her. He’d ended up with a stern warning that he’d be cut off if he tried it again. She hadn’t been talking about beers. His nuts had come to mind. She leaned against the building and closed her eyes.
Lavos’s image popped up. It happened often since she’d left Alaska. She thought about him more than she wanted to. He was very memorable. She hugged her waist and crossed one ankle over the other. He’d been a hell of a man, unlike the ones she dealt with at work.
He probably had forgotten her as soon as she’d driven away, but he’d starred in many of her dreams when she slept. Some of them had caused her to wake up with a sense of loss, while others had been of the highly sexual nature. Either way, they’d left her frustrated and missing him.
It could never happen between them, though. Kar had admitted it was a big no-no for Werewolves to hook up with humans. Lavos’s pack would likely have a bone to pick with them having any kind of relationship—probably one from her dead carcass.
Her pocket buzzed and she reached down, sliding her cell phone out. She opened her eyes but didn’t take the time to look at who called. “Hello?”
“Can you talk or are you swamped?”
She smiled, identifying her friend’s voice. “I’m taking a break. What’s up, Maria?”
“I wanted to invite you to a barbeque
on Sunday.”
“No way. This is another setup, isn’t it?”
“He’s nice. His name is Mitch and he’s hot. He also has a good job, no mommy issues, and his family lives in New York so you won’t face a firing squad anytime soon.”
Jadee winced. “No.” The last Mitch she’d met had been a killer. It was the night she’d lost her father and met up with a stranger walking around inside his body.
“I want you to be happy.” Concern laced Maria’s voice. “I worry about you.”
“I’m okay.”
“Have they found the bodies?”
She tilted her head up, staring at the moon. “No. They probably never will. The entire camp washed into the river when that storm hit. It’s remote up there and they may never surface, or if they do, they won’t be easy to find. It’s miles of endless woods. I’m just glad my dad had parked his RV away from the rest of their camp.”
“What were they looking for?”
“Some kind of tree beast,” she lied. “Think of a devil in the body of a tree. Someone said they saw a moving tree walking around. I’m sure they were just drunk and it was windy.” She wasn’t sure if that was a legend but it didn’t matter. Her friend wouldn’t waste the time to look it up.
“Why are you working? I know you already talked to your father’s lawyer and the police. Megan told me she’d gone with you to do all that. She also told me the lawyer called yesterday, saying your father had left you everything, but the call was just a formality since he’d already put you on all his bank accounts. You have access to his money. He left you set for life.”
“Bartending keeps me busy.”
“You should take some time off to grieve.”
“I need to stay occupied.”
“I can’t believe they let you return to work.”
“I didn’t tell them about my dad.” Jadee sighed. “For that reason.”
“I understand. You want to try to keep things as normal as possible but you’ve got to be hurting. Mitch is a nice guy. My husband works with him. I just can’t stand you being alone. Everyone is worried about you, Jadee. I’m surprised you even answered your phone. I usually get your voicemail; you’re bad about returning calls ever since you got back from Alaska. It’s like you’re avoiding us.”